Day 088 - 13 Feb 95 - Page 39
1 95 per cent come from, sir -- probably a bad assessment.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So they are not living on the slatted
4 floor ---
5 A. Oh, no, no.
6
7 Q. -- they have this discrete area?
8 A. All the rest of this area, all the rest of it is
9 insulated floor with straw where the sow is. That is just
10 the back end where the slight problem is.
11
12 MR. RAMPTON: What is the concern about slats?
13 A. Obviously, foot problems.
14
15 Q. You mean they can get their foot caught?
16 A. Yes, they can get their feet caught, etcetera.
17
18 Q. So if you get rid of the slatted lavatories, if I can call
19 them that, will you get your approval, do you think?
20 A. Yes, we would, sir.
21
22 Q. Do you use any tethers for your sows in those indoor
23 stalls?
24 A. No, sir, nor stalls.
25
26 Q. Nor stalls?
27 A. No.
28
29 Q. When the indoor sow comes to have its piglets, by what
30 means does she have them? She cannot dig a hole in the
31 ground in the same way as the one outside can?
32 A. The indoor sows, sir, we have what we call farrowing
33 units or maternity units, for want of another word, where
34 the sows go in to have their pigs and then they are held in
35 that room until they have their pigs in the farrowing
36 crates for the protection of the piglet, and that is --
37 also in there there is a warm area where the pigs can go to
38 the pigs if they wish to and choose to away from the sow.
39
40 Q. As we will see in a moment, the RSPCA's freedom food code
41 says that farrowing crates should be phased out as soon as
42 practicable alternatives become available. Are there any
43 available at the moment?
44 A. I would agree with that statement totally. There are
45 experiments taking place, but it is not just now. Man has
46 been looking for alternatives for years. One of the
47 alternatives, obviously, outdoor system, the outdoor arcs,
48 but, internally, there are experiments going on. We have
49 tried different types of farrowing crates. There is an
50 experiment that is being looked at now with the RSPCA and,
51 I think it is, Aberdeen University on a system where a sow
52 can walk in and farrow quite differently, but it has not
53 met with the initial success that they thought it would do.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But does your system amount to being a
56 farrowing crate?
57 A. Does our system what, sir?
58
59 Q. Does your system for the indoor sows count as a farrowing
60 crate?
