Day 291 - 31 Oct 96 - Page 20
1 again that I think it was effectively said that in the end
2 it was okay because they re-shot the cow. Well, this is
3 another example that if Dr. Gregory had not been there,
4 then due to the pressures on through-put of the animals
5 through the slaughter plant they may very well have just
6 carried on regardless.
7
8 Just in relation to the point I was making a moment ago
9 about the 2.5 grain cartridge previously being used, if you
10 look at - I don't mean now - if you look at day 18, page
11 77, line 11 -- well, if you start at line 10, Dr. Gregory
12 said: In terms of stunning the cattle themselves, the
13 accuracy of the shooting is one thing which has been
14 touched upon and that to some extent is a problem where
15 under-sized cartridges are used. Under-sized cartridges
16 would be where the management is trying to cut costs. This
17 does happen sometimes, only occasionally, but some plants,
18 yes. He said, following that, that that was something that
19 there had been an improvement in since the recommendations
20 following the 1984 Farm Animal Welfare Council report,
21 which is referred to in the London Greenpeace fact sheet.
22
23 And lower down the page he says: It was evident in the
24 plants I visited in the course of these proceedings that
25 they were using the right combination of power cartridge,
26 size of animal and the right gun. He was asked: Was that
27 an improvement on what had been used previously. He said:
28 Yes. One of the weaknesses was that people were using a
29 2.5 grain cartridge for large cattle in the 1987 reported
30 survey. It was an under-powered cartridge for some
31 cattle. He said he did not know whether or not in that
32 survey that was referring to a McKey supplier, but
33 obviously we now know from the evidence of Mr. Chambers
34 that they were using 2.5 grain cartridges and they would
35 have been at that time.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. (Pause).
38
39 MS. STEEL: I forgot to mention this other reference about it
40 for Dr. Gregory, is day 18, page 54, line 5. Dr. Gregory
41 said that many people in the animal welfare science would
42 consider that one of the main welfare problems in the dairy
43 industry is laminitis, and it is usually associated with
44 conditions where the cow is exposed to wet conditions
45 underfoot, if it has to trample through silage effluent
46 which is particularly acidic, it can be associated with
47 nutrition prior to calving and so on. (Pause)
48
49 I think I have finished with Dr. Gregory.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Who are you going to next? Are you going to
52 go back to Dr. Long?
53
54 MS. STEEL: Yes. I have not got a massive amount for him.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will break off now until 2 o'clock. It is
57 a bit longer than normal but it will give you a bit of time
58 to see what you have got left.
59
60 (Luncheon Adjournment)
