Day 061 - 05 Dec 94 - Page 49


     
     1        a wire floor?
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is it really helpful
     4        to anthropomorphise these things?
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:  Are you seriously asserting it is comfortable for
     7        chickens to stand on a wire floor for the whole of their
     8        lives?
     9        A.  I do not know that it is not so how can I say -----
    10
    11   Q.   You do not know that it is not?
    12        A.  No -- any more than you do.
    13
    14   Q.   The chickens in the broiler units, do you think they are
    15        comfortable too?
    16        A.  They seem to be when I have been there.
    17
    18   Q.   They are crowded, are they not?  They are crowded in, they
    19        are crammed in?
    20        A.  Only at the end of their life.
    21
    22   Q.   So do you think they are comfortable at the end of their
    23        lives?
    24        A.  The last couple of days, I would not have thought that
    25        they are particularly uncomfortable.  They certainly do not
    26        move around a lot, but then they do not when they are
    27        younger either.  In some of these chicken grow out houses
    28        which are pretty long, if you observe the chickens for a
    29        while, when there is plenty of freedom and space, they
    30        really do not move very far.  They stay very much in one
    31        area, although they could, they could move the whole length
    32        of the house if they wanted to.  I think that is the same
    33        way when they are older, so I am not sure they even want to
    34        move around that much.
    35
    36   Q.   They might be intimidated about crossing other chickens'
    37        territory when they are all crammed in so closely?
    38        A.  I could not answer that.
    39
    40   Q.   You do not know about that then?
    41        A.  Well, of course not.  I do not have the ability to talk
    42        to chickens any more than you do.
    43
    44   Q.   The chickens again that are in battery units, they have
    45        less space than an A4 sheet of paper.  Are you still
    46        asserting that they are comfortable?
    47        A.  As I have said to you, I do not know that they are
    48        uncomfortable.
    49
    50   Q.   But this is your animal welfare policy; you are supposed to 
    51        be concerned about this.  Are you saying you have not 
    52        bothered to find out? 
    53        A.  Well, how would you find out if a chicken was
    54        uncomfortable?  You could listen to some researcher but who
    55        is to say that they are right?  How do you they find out?
    56
    57   Q.   Do you know what the codes of practice are in this country
    58        about stocking densities in broiler units?
    59        A.  Specifically, no.  I leave that to the experts at Sun
    60        Valley.

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