Day 093 - 28 Feb 95 - Page 43


     
     1
     2   Q.   Is that right?
     3
     4   MS. STEEL:   Is that the same for pigs and cattle as well?
     5        A.  Yes, it is.
     6
     7   Q.   In the United States, I think you said that poultry
     8        slaughter was governed by the US DA?
     9        A.  Yes, it is.
    10
    11   Q.   The documents that are from the US DA about slaughter
    12        regulations do not mention chickens, do they?
    13        A.  No they do not but the entire plant is regulated by the
    14        United States Department of Agriculture.
    15
    16   Q.   They are regulations for red meat animals, are they not?
    17        A.  They have regulations for cattle, for meals, for pigs,
    18        for chickens.  The plants are regulated too.
    19
    20   Q.   The slaughterhouses?
    21        A.  The whole thing -- the slaughterhouses, yes, they are.
    22        The method of slaughter is not required -- is not specified
    23        on chickens.  The slaughterhouses, they are.
    24
    25   Q.   Right.  So what part of the chicken process is -----
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I just do not understand that.  Either the
    28        method of slaughter of chickens is regulated in some way or
    29        it is not.  What do you mean that the method of slaughter
    30        is not specified but the slaughterhouses are?
    31        A.  OK.  The slaughterhouses which is the entire complex,
    32        it is regulated by the United States Department of
    33        Agriculture.  The same department does not specify that the
    34        animals have to be slaughtered through a regulated process.
    35
    36   Q.   When you say "regulated" do you mean it has to have a
    37        licence, do you?
    38        A.  Absolutely.  It has to have a licence, it has to
    39        have -----
    40
    41   Q.   So it has to be approved by US DA?
    42        A.  Yes.
    43
    44   Q.   But they do not have a specified method of slaughter?
    45        A.  Yes, that is correct.
    46
    47   MS. STEEL:  The approval, is that for reasons of hygiene?
    48        A.  For a lot of reasons -- one of them is hygiene, yes.
    49
    50   Q.   What are the other reasons then? 
    51        A.  Oh, there are a lot of regulations.  There is an entire 
    52        book but it includes everything from labelling, from 
    53        transportation to the correct identification of parts,
    54        pieces, the weights of the boxes, waste.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why not ask just him straight out ---
    57
    58   MS. STEEL:  So it is not about welfare?
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- has it got anything to do with animal

Prev Next Index