Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 44
1 A. Broiler chickens, we are talking about very young
2 birds, no more than seven or eight weeks of age, and the
3 sexual maturity of chickens does not happen until 18 or 20
4 weeks of age, so they are very immature anyway.
5
6 Q. So the deprivation, if it were one, is the consequence of
7 premature death, not of being a broiler chicken?
8 A. That is correct.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will break off there until 2 o'clock.
11
12 (Luncheon adjournment)
13
14 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I have just spotted a new feature on the
15 screen which is like a clock.
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I spotted it first thing. I see Miss Foot
18 has it so I assume it is intentional. It may assist in
19 relating anything on Case View to the final form
20 transcript, I do not know.
21
22 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. (To the witness): Dr. Pattison, when the
23 females are 42 days old, and the males 52 -----
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is a bit of a tell tale if we sit late or
26 finish early -- that is the trouble!
27
28 MR. RAMPTON: Yes, quite. (To the witness): When they are 42
29 and 52 days old, respectively, they are removed from the
30 shed and taken to the plant?
31 A. Yes.
32
33 Q. What is the method by which they are removed from the
34 sheds?
35 A. People are employed, they are called "catchers", their
36 job is to go into the house and pick up the chickens by the
37 legs and to place them into crates which are then loaded
38 into modules to be put on the lorry.
39
40 Q. I think you indicated earlier -- I know that you did --
41 that it is a job which requires care and experience?
42 A. It certainly does.
43
44 Q. Is there any extent to which the people who are doing the
45 catching are under any pressure of time for economic
46 reasons?
47 A. It was said that this used to be the case, but now the
48 way that the work-load is designed there is no reason why
49 excessive speed should have to be used to complete this
50 operation.
51
52 Q. Is there any synchronization of deliveries at the plants?
53 A. Yes, the catching, the delivery and the slaughter
54 process has to be all carefully synchronized so that there
55 is not any excessive delays either on the farm, in the
56 arrival area before the chickens are slaughtered. So, it
57 is all planned very carefully.
58
59 Q. I think you also said earlier that there will occur from
60 time to time injuries to the birds inflicted during the
