Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 29
1 I am aware, he was satisfied with C02 as an agent for
2 dealing with day-old chicks.
3
4 Q. So as to save time later on, I think it is probably best if
5 I try to find the passage in question. There was so much
6 on chickens.
7 A. Well, if I could -- his thesis is that for killing
8 slaughter weight chickens that you should have a mixture of
9 carbon dioxide and an inert gas, such as argon, and in that
10 way the job is done more quickly and he believes more
11 humanely, but this has never been a recommendation for day
12 old chicks.
13
14 Q. Do you have any feeling, whatever Dr. Gregory might have
15 said, and I cannot find it and I will not bother with it
16 now, that you ought to be changing your method in this
17 respect?
18 A. I do not feel any reason -- there is no reason for
19 changing this method which has worked satisfactorily for a
20 number of years.
21
22 Q. Is this the sort of thing, I do not know, that you would be
23 inclined to keep under review in the course of your
24 responsibilities?
25 A. We, obviously, have to keep an open mind and we do
26 review all our practices and procedures from time to time,
27 and if something is developed which is an improvement we
28 try to adopt it.
29
30 Q. Do you read scientific papers and agricultural magazines?
31 A. Yes, I read very extensively.
32
33 Q. Can you look back then, please, at page 11, paragraph 56,
34 of the MAFF document which you should have in front of
35 you? You have dealt with the first sentence. Looking at
36 the next two sentences about the carbon dioxide and the
37 ADAS publication, does your method or does it not comply
38 with that recommendation?
39 A. Yes, it does.
40
41 Q. When the chicks have been hatched they must be transported,
42 I think, to the growing sheds, must they not?
43 A. They are, yes.
44
45 Q. What is the furthest distance that the chicks have to
46 travel from the hatchery to the growing shed?
47 A. In our case, about 50 miles.
48
49 Q. In what sort of conveyance -- a terrible word -- in what
50 sort of vehicle are they transported?
51 A. It is a vehicle specifically designed for the purpose
52 which has heating and ventilation controls in it which can
53 be monitored from the driver's cab.
54
55 Q. Are the drivers trained to alter the conditions according
56 to the weather?
57 A. The drivers, yes, they are trained to do this, and it
58 is part of their job to make sure the environment is as it
59 should be.
60
