Day 104 - 15 Mar 95 - Page 48
1 MS. STEEL: It changed when you split the lines into males and
2 females?
3 A. Yes, that is right.
4
5 Q. Which was between the two visits that Dr. Gregory made?
6 A. Yes, that is correct.
7
8 Q. Was it the intention of Sun Valley to improve conditions
9 for the birds when the speed was reduced and the separation
10 of the sexes was introduced?
11 A. The actual conditions for the birds themselves did not
12 change very much. The arrival area was the same. The
13 angular auto-flow system was the same. The unloading was
14 all the same. They were hung on the lines in the same
15 way. As I have explained before, the stunning and all the
16 equipment on the line was from the stunner through to the
17 pluckers and scalding equipment, that was all updated, but
18 really the conditions on the line itself really did not
19 change.
20
21 Q. So there would not have been any improvements in terms of
22 birds missing the stunner or entering the scalding tank
23 alive or anything like that?
24 A. Well, there were no really major changes. As we have
25 talked about before, the stunning equipment obviously has
26 been updated and improved.
27
28 Q. So the main reason for the changeover then was to make
29 processing easier with different sized birds?
30 A. Yes, that was the main reason. Also the opportunity to
31 introduce more modern equipment and also to refurbish the
32 plant itself and make it more up to modern standards.
33
34 Q. How long is the stun bath?
35 A. It is about a metre long.
36
37 Q. Is that the same or did that used to be different?
38 A. I think it used to be a bit longer than that, maybe one
39 and a half metres before.
40
41 Q. A metal electrode in the bath, does that now span the
42 length of the water bath?
43 A. Yes. The arrangement is that there is a metal
44 electrode at the base of the water bath which runs the
45 whole length.
46
47 Q. Previously it did not, that is correct, is it not?
48 A. I believe that is so, yes.
49
50 Q. The bath now stuns eight birds at a time, is that correct?
51 A. No, there are 16.
52
53 Q. Sixteen?
54 A. Yes.
55
56 Q. Do the male and female lines have separate baths?
57 A. Yes, they do.
58
59 Q. How long do the birds remain in the baths?
60 A. They are in the bath for five or six seconds.
