Day 018 - 26 Jul 94 - Page 75


     
     1        supervising veterinarians in abattoirs as to what they
              should be doing in doing an inspection.  There has been
     2        quite a lot of flow of information to the MAFF veterinary
              officers who are responsible for enforcement.
     3
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Does that include Local Authority veterinary
     4        inspectors?
              A.  A good question.  The Ministry of Agriculture does
     5        sponsor the training, special training for the local
              authority veterinarians.  They co-ordinate that training
     6        programme, and so that they are monitoring the information
              that is put over in those training courses.  So they have
     7        a close involvement in it.  In fact, our people from
              Bristol, our university, do the training on the welfare
     8        side, but they actually join in at the time we do that.
              So they are intimately involved with that.
     9
         MS. STEEL:   So the codes of practice were brought in as a
    10        result of this report?
              A.  Yes.
    11
         Q.   Roughly, when were they brought in?
    12        A.  Roughly 1990.
 
    13   Q.   Right.  The report that was made, that was based on the
              industry as a whole, was it not?  It was not, say, the
    14        worst aspects of the industry?
              A.  I was not instrumental in writing the report and
    15        collating the information that went into the report, so it
              is difficult for me to answer that.  I do not know fully
    16        what the extent of the material was they reviewed.
 
    17   Q.   Right.
              A.  So can I bow out of that question?
    18
         Q.   When the codes of practice were brought in, did that make
    19        a difference on the ground as far as farming and slaughter
              methods and welfare were involved?
    20        A.  I think for the first time it produced some literature
              which actually went out, was available to go out, to the
    21        abattoirs, and so the people doing the work themselves had
              an opportunity to learn from written material.  Can I add
    22        one thing I have overlooked, that is, one of the
              recommendations of the Farm Animal Welfare Council report
    23        was to do training of an animal welfare officer who would
              be a company employee at each plant.
    24
              So, he would become the trained animal welfare officer.
    25        Now since that FAWC recommendations, an animal welfare
              officer training course has been initiated and is still in 
    26        use, still in practice.  That has been quite an effective 
              way of getting information over to personnel in the plant. 
    27
         Q.   So it has generally improved things?
    28        A.  I am confident that over the years that I have known
              the abattoir industry there have been improvements in
    29        standards, yes.
 
    30   Q.   Right.
              A.  I think there are some cases where there is still room

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