Day 018 - 26 Jul 94 - Page 69
1
Q. The standard errors are the SE 0.06 and O.02?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. Do not worry about that unless this part of your evidence
should be contested. Then the time in the stunning pen
4 before shooting is second. Again, the seven McKey
suppliers seem to score significantly better. Tell me
5 whether it is significant, 28 as against 40, for the other
20?
6 A. That would be highly significant with standard errors
of one and two respectively, it would be.
7
Q. Why does it matter how long, sorry am I being very
8 indistinct?
A. No. Keep going.
9
Q. Why does it matter how long the animal is in the stunning
10 pen?
A. It is a reflection of the ease of shooting. It is a
11 reflection of the amount of stress that the animal could
undergo if it is does not like being confined in the
12 stunning pen. It is a measure of the ease of accuracy of
shooting as well, so the likelihood of whether they are
13 going to be an accurate shot, but also it is going to be a
function which is irrelevant to welfare of the line speed,
14 i.e. the throughput rate they have to achieve.
15 Q. Let me explore that a little bit. If an animal is in the
stunning pen and it is upset or distressed or anxious,
16 does it move its head around?
A. One posture it might adopt would be to have its head
17 low down, it might even bellow when it is in that
position, for instance. If the animal is really upset it
18 can put its head down, put its chin slightly forward and
then give a bellowing noise. That is not out of the
19 ordinary.
20 Q. Does that make it more difficult for the slaughter man
to place an accurate shot?
21 A. That is correct.
22 Q. Does it also reduce his chances when he pulls the trigger
of making the shot accurate if the animal is distressed?
23 A. If its head is moving in association with that
distress, that would be the case.
24
Q. If he lost patience and shot too soon, for example?
25 A. That does happen.
26 Q. So, looked at overall, does this 12 second difference in
average time in the stunning pen confer a benefit on the
27 animals?
A. It could do. It would be a reflection, I think, so we
28 cannot say it is a cause or it is necessarily proof; it
could do.
29
Q. Yes, a very fair answer. Then, finally, we get the
30 subheading: "Proportion of Animals Showing Symptoms which
indicated a less than perfect stun." In the one case, the
