Day 098 - 07 Mar 95 - Page 60
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What is that, hay or something?
2 A. Yes, it is forage feed.
3
4 Q. Forage which they pull from the manger?
5 A. Yes. The manger runs along the side of the pen.
6
7 MR. RAMPTON: His Lordship was asking, I think, about stress in
8 cows on the one hand and steers and heifers on the other.
9 You explained that you can tell from the look of the meat
10 in steers and heifers whether or not the animal has been
11 stressed, but so for as cows are concerned, at any rate in
12 cow meat that is exported, you test the pH levels, is that
13 right?
14 A. Yes.
15
16 Q. What does that tell you?
17 A. If the meat is dark, take a steer for instance, it will
18 have a higher pH than on a normal animal.
19
20 Q. But what about the pH testing in cow meat?
21 A. Well, because the colour difference is not as obvious
22 in the cow meat, I assume this is the reason people want it
23 tested, is that we check the pH instead.
24
25 Q. If you get a high result on that test then you know the cow
26 is likely to have been stressed?
27 A. Yes, also there is something else I should mention
28 that the pH actually falls postmortem, so it could be that
29 it actually has not reached its ultimate pH.
30
31 Q. Do you have a view whether or not according to these
32 different ways of assessing a degree of stress, do you have
33 a view whether or not the cows in general are less prone to
34 stress than steers or heifers or the other way around?
35 A. Yes. I would say that cows are less prone to stress
36 because they are easier to handle.
37
38 Q. Why do you think it is they are easier to handle?
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, I can take judicial knowledge of that,
41 can I not?
42
43 MR. RAMPTON: I should hope so, but just in case.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are used to it?
46 A. Yes, sir.
47
48 Q. Or more used to it.
49
50 MR. RAMPTON: Finally this, Mr. Chambers. You said at one stage
51 today, you were talking about the detained room and how
52 long the meat might remain in the detained room and what
53 happened to it?
54 A. Yes.
55
56 Q. According to what decision was made about a particular
57 piece of meat. You said I think (these are not your exact
58 words) mostly in the jurisdiction of meat inspectors?
59 A. That is true.
60
