Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 49


     
     1        A.  In the arrival area, the modules are taken off the back
     2        of the lorry and they are placed in rows in the arrival
     3        area.
     4
     5   Q.   Is that a yard?
     6        A.  It is a covered yard.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Was that what we actually saw in part of the
     9        film, very high stacks of them?
    10        A.  Yes, you saw a snap-shot of the outside of the arrival
    11        area, yes.
    12
    13   Q.   But they were being piled up quite high in one place by a
    14        forklift truck?
    15        A.  In our case they are only one module high in rows.
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:   How long would they remain in the yard?
    18        A.  They stay there up to three hours.
    19
    20   Q.   Then what happens?
    21        A.  The individual modules are picked up with a forklift
    22        and they are put on to a belt which is an unloading
    23        machine, and an arm comes across and pushes drawers on to a
    24        line so that the drawers are in line.  They proceed down
    25        the belt towards the men who hang the chickens on to the
    26        line.
    27
    28   Q.   How many men are hanging chickens on the line?
    29        A.  It is usually about six or seven in that area.
    30
    31   Q.   It is the hangers-on on job to identify the
    32        dead-on-arrival, is it?
    33        A.  Yes, it is.
    34
    35   Q.   The Farm Animal Welfare Council report or the advice to
    36        Ministers on the handling and transport of poultry says:
    37         "Research into broken bones indicated that removing hens
    38        from the transport crates and hanging them on shackles
    39        resulted in a sharp increase in the incidence of broken
    40        bones".  Would you agree with that?
    41        A.  I think that was probably referring to hens and not
    42        broilers because I do not think it is a problem with
    43        broilers.
    44
    45   Q.   So that is a particular problem with battery chickens, is
    46        it?
    47        A.  I believe so, yes.
    48
    49   Q.   Do you know why that is?
    50        A.  Well, it could possibly be because osteoporosis ---- 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is this the calcium point again? 
    53        A.  Yes, the calcium, exactly.  Osteoporosis occurs through
    54        poor calcium metabolism and is a specific thing that can be
    55        seen in laying hens but not in broiler chickens.
    56
    57   MS. STEEL:   So what percentage of birds are affected by broken
    58        bones on shackling with broiler chickens?
    59        A.  Well, we do not specifically identify it.  At the
    60        hanging on stage, they are not aware usually of broken

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