Day 088 - 13 Feb 95 - Page 38
1 A. About 2.2.
2
3 Q. About the same as the outdoor one?
4 A. Yes.
5
6 Q. Where are her piglets kept before they are weaned for their
7 first 21 days?
8 A. With her.
9
10 Q. Exactly.
11 A. Yes.
12
13 Q. She feeds them for that 24 days?
14 A. Yes, yes. And also, this is quite an important point,
15 they are introduced to what we call weaner crate food from
16 about three days old, so they have the chance to feed on
17 that and gradually take a liking to it and use that food as
18 they wish of their own choice.
19
20 Q. So they will eat a mixed diet of mother's milk and other
21 things?
22 A. Yes.
23
24 Q. When they are weaned they are then removed and they are put
25 into conditions similar to those we see in the picture; is
26 that right?
27 A. Exactly as those.
28
29 Q. From there on they progress as we have described?
30 A. Exactly as all the other pigs.
31
32 Q. Why is it that your indoor units are only 95 per cent
33 freedom food approved by the RSPCA?
34 A. You are asking me quite a difficult question, sir,
35 because we are in negotiation with freedom food on this
36 point because we have an extremely good relationship with
37 the RSPCA.
38
39 Q. I am coming to that in a minute.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not sure I understand what "95 per cent
42 approved" means.
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: They are not quite approved, that is all it means,
45 I think.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are either approved or they are not
48 approved.
49 A. There is only one thing why we are not approved at this
50 moment. I will explain it to you. I feel a little
51 reluctant, but I will. At the back of each sow there is a
52 little slatted metal area about that long, that wide where
53 she can muck and urinate and then that is automatically
54 washed away, but under freedom food rules that is
55 classified as slats, and so we do have a slight difficulty
56 there. Either we have to change it or probably freedom
57 foods, they have got to have a relook at it and see if it
58 can be, but that is the only thing where the hang up is at
59 the moment. We think it is a perfectly good husbandry
60 method. They do not totally disagree so that is where the
