Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 34
1 Q. Why is that?
2 A. Quite simply, the pigs do not have to climb up the
3 ramps to go on the top deck.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I had understood it was there might be two
6 aspects to it, whether they are going in or going out.
7 There is the aspect of having to go up or down a steeper
8 slope and they might suffer stress while actually
9 negotiating that?
10 A. That is a possibility. You know, either way, up or
11 down, that is a possibility, but if you have sufficient
12 straw on the ramps that certainly helps the situation.
13
14 Q. The other thing is that you may have to do more driving to
15 get a pig to go up or down a steeper slope?
16 A. At times, yes.
17
18 Q. Those are the two potential aspects of possible cause of
19 stress which occurred to me. Is there anything else?
20 A. But then a pig actually has a natural inclination to
21 climb a gradient.
22
23 Q. It is much easier to climb up than climb down anything?
24 A. Yes, correct.
25
26 MS. STEEL: How long has the company had vehicles with
27 hydraulically operated decks?
28 A. Ever since they were brought on to the market
29 which ---
30
31 Q. When was that?
32 A. -- I would have said roughly 1980ish.
33
34 Q. The other 25 per cent of the vehicles, they have been
35 phased in since that time, have they?
36 A. Yes.
37
38 Q. Do you not demand that all of the contracted vehicles have
39 hydraulically operated decks?
40 A. No, because there are farmers who actually deliver to
41 us, some of them, on just trailers without a deck in at
42 all.
43
44 Q. What about the other vehicles that do have decks?
45 A. It is a specification for us to do that for the future,
46 yes, but you have to give transporters time to do it, etc.
47
48 Q. When was that specification made?
49 A. I would say within the last 10 years. I cannot
50 remember exactly.
51
52 Q. Within the last five years?
53 A. I could not give you an honest answer on that, I really
54 could not.
55
56 Q. How long have the transporters been given to comply with
57 that?
58 A. Well, we asked them to change at the next time they
59 changed their vehicles.
60
