Day 104 - 15 Mar 95 - Page 51
1 producers do sometimes specify that they want particular
2 modifications. I think ours by and large is standard,
3 although we have changed the water bath as I explained
4 yesterday.
5
6 Q. I was just wondering this requirement about prestun shocks,
7 and you seem to say that there was not suitable equipment
8 available. You were not suggesting that all the poultry
9 plants in the country were ignoring that recommendation or
10 operating outside of the law?
11 A. I have not seen other people's slaughter plants, so I
12 cannot really comment about them.
13
14 Q. You have not visited any others?
15 A. I have not been to them, no.
16
17 Q. When you were getting your slaughter equipment changed and
18 you consulted Dr. Gregory, did you have a provision in your
19 contract to change the equipment that you had asked for
20 with the suppliers of the equipment?
21 A. No, we bought standard equipment that was available.
22
23 Q. So by the time you called in Dr. Gregory it was too late
24 for that to have any effect on what you were going to
25 change?
26 A. No. We called in Dr. Gregory at a time when we were
27 trying out the new Simmons equipment, which we had
28 installed on a trial basis, and we asked for his opinions
29 on the way that it was operating.
30
31 Q. If it was not satisfactory, were you in a position to send
32 it back and get it changed?
33 A. Yes, we were.
34
35 Q. So you could have specified to Simmons that you wanted an
36 electrically isolated ramp on the lead up to stunning bath?
37 A. Well I think, yes, and I think that is one of the
38 changes that we have made successfully.
39
40 Q. Right, but not until recently?
41 A. Well, as I said yesterday, I have said it several times
42 now, told you exactly when we had it installed, why we had
43 it installed. I do not really see any reason to repeat it.
44
45 Q. The method that you are using now, is that partially
46 preventing shocks by a dip in the line, or is that
47 something different because there was mention of a dip in
48 the line?
49 A. There is a slight dip in the line but the important
50 change is the guiding ramp for the birds' heads.
51
52 Q. Would you accept that there are relatively high overall
53 fear levels in broilers being transported?
54 A. In any animal or chicken that is being moved or put
55 into a strange environment there is bound to be an element
56 of fear there.
57
58 Q. Right, but that would be quite high levels for transporting
59 broilers?
60 A. I do not know how you define "high". There would be a
