Day 018 - 26 Jul 94 - Page 35
1
Q. .07 is the national average estimate, whereas Bowes
2 thought theirs was .02?
A. I apologise, yes.
3
Q. If it turns out that Bowes are right about that, then they
4 will be doing somewhat better than other people?
A. Yes.
5
Q. Did you see any use of electric goads in the unloading of
6 the pigs?
A. No, I did not.
7
Q. Do you know whether or not the pigs were kept over night,
8 whether they were the company pigs or outside contractor's
pigs, before being slaughtered?
9 A. Not in the lairage, no, they were not.
10 Q. What can one do if a pig arrives which is not dead but
badly injured?
11 A. There were two alternatives depending upon the
circumstances. One can either shoot it in the lorry or
12 put it on a pram, wheel the pram to the slaughter point,
stun it, then bleed it out in the normal manner.
13
Q. I want to go quite quickly over this until we get to the
14 point of slaughter. So far as your observations were
concerned, what was the standard of animal care from the
15 point of arrival in the lorries to the point of being
stunned?
16 A. At this particular plant I thought it was
commendable. It is one of the highest standards I have
17 seen for the throughput of plant and sort of situation.
In fact, what I learned from this visit I now include in
18 my teaching on the subject, because I think it is a very
high standard.
19
Q. Can you give us a brief account of the reasons, particular
20 reasons, why you thought that it was of such a high
standard?
21 A. An important aspect of it was the experience and
ability expressed by the people who are handling the
22 pigs. That is an important item.
23 Q. Why is that important?
A. It is the breakdown in orderly handling of pigs.
24 Quite often a reflection not only of facilities, but also
the operators who are working the system. Now in this
25 situation they have facilities which are quite similar in
some respects, in many respects, to other abattoirs.
26 But -----
27 Q. Physically, you mean?
A. Indeed I do, but the operators at this particular
28 plant had worked with the system but arranged for what
I considered to be extremely effective handling.
29
Q. Does ineffective handling have a detrimental effect for
30 animal welfare?
A. Undoubtedly.
