Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 60
1 into the correct position so that he can get a clear and
2 accurate shot?
3 A. It can take a long time. It does not always, but it
4 can take quite a long time, 20, 30 seconds.
5
6 Q. Do you put any pressure on your slaughtermen to hurry up
7 and get it shot anyhow so that you can keep the line
8 moving?
9 A. No.
10
11 Q. What is the time, roughly speaking, between stunning and
12 sticking, roughly speaking?
13 A. 40 to 60 seconds.
14
15 Q. Let me have just a quick look at those MAFF pocket
16 guidelines on slaughter -- I hope you have them now, page
17 125 -- just in case there is anything I have not asked you
18 about. It says on page 126 left-hand column -- do you have
19 126?
20 A. Yes.
21
22 Q. Little 2 at the bottom: "Animals must not be subjected to
23 unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress at any time", we
24 need not bother about that. "Stunning always: ensure that
25 an effective stun is achieved", do not worry about that.
26 "Ensure that a reserve mechanically operated stunning
27 instrument is readily available and in good working order
28 for immediate use in the event of the first stunning
29 instrument failing to operate effectively."
30
31 You have told us that you do have that backup instrument.
32 Have you ever known a case while you have been at Midland
33 Meat in which, as it were, either the gun was not there or
34 it did not work, the backup gun?
35 A. I am not aware of a case, no.
36
37 Q. You can forget the next one because it does not apply to
38 cattle. I do not think we need worry about any of the rest
39 of that column, nor the next column either. That is all we
40 need look at on that. Can I ask you, keeping that volume
41 open, Mr. Chambers, to turn on past your statement and its
42 appendices or its appendix -- before I leave that, can
43 I ask you to 191, please and just glance at these pages
44 from 191 to the end, 195, where you will see a signature by
45 a trainee somebody called Ursula Taylor and somebody called
46 Roy Smith. Tell me what this document is or what these
47 documents are?
48 A. The one that is signed by Ursula Taylor and Roy Smith
49 is animal welfare training for people who work -----
50
51 Q. OK then, all right. I thought they were one document but
52 they are not. If you go back to 193, it should be a
53 documented headed "Job Analysis Stun Operator" do you see
54 that?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 Q. What is that?
58 A. This is surprisingly a job analysis for the stun
59 operator. It is the code of practice, if you like, that
60 the stun operator has to abide by when stunning animals.
