Day 093 - 28 Feb 95 - Page 53
1
2 Q. But McDonald's does not say that if the animals are going
3 to the feed lot then they should not be branded?
4 A. No, it does not say that. We are currently looking at
5 that. We have been trying to do that. We have been trying
6 to change the regulations. To be honest it is not only
7 because of the concerns of the animal; there is an economic
8 reason for that. The hide losses about $16 per animal per
9 hide in value because they are branded.
10
11 Q. Effectively, it is up to your suppliers what they choose to
12 do then?
13 A. Now you have to understand what I just talked about is
14 required by law. It is not required by our suppliers.
15
16 Q. On the pastures, not on the feed lots?
17 A. We do not have suppliers on the pastures or the feed
18 lots.
19
20 Q. As far as the conditions go then, you basically leave it in
21 the hands of your suppliers, the abattoirs?
22 A. You have to understand we do not have abattoirs. We do
23 not have something we can say to our suppliers.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We have been through this before. I really
26 find it difficult to see how, for the argument which you
27 want to put, you can do better than you have done so far.
28 If you want to press on until you get an answer which
29 detracts from the one you have got already, do so. It is
30 quite apparent to me that McDonald's leaves all these
31 things to their suppliers in the US, whatever they do in
32 the UK, which seems to me, arguably on the evidence, to be
33 a rather different system.
34
35 THE WITNESS: May I make a clear distinction? When it comes to
36 chickens we a very strong relationship with our suppliers
37 because of the nature of the business. When it comes to
38 beef cattle we cannot have a relationship. We have been
39 trying to develop a relationship with them. We have not.
40 Nobody in the industry ----
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Even with Tysons you let them get on with it?
43 A. Yes, but we place that responsibility on them. We have
44 very little influence on the beef side because they do not
45 supply, they are not what we called "dedicated" suppliers
46 to us. They can sell to whoever they want to.
47
48 MS. STEEL: The cattle's horns do have nerves in them, do they
49 not?
50 A. Mostly, yes, similar with the nails, at the base they
51 have some nerves, then as you go to the tip they do not.
52
53 Q. So you are saying that the nerves go halfway up or
54 something like that?
55 A. I do not know how far they go, if they concentrate it
56 at the base, but definitely at the top or at the tip they
57 are not there.
58
59 Q. The dehorning can be done with a chemical paste that burns
60 out the roots of their horns, can it not?
