Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 26
1 Q. Then it says, 56: "Chicks should always be killed by a
2 skilled operator". Are your chicks killed by skilled
3 operators?
4 A. Yes, the people are trained to do this.
5
6 Q. Then it says: "The method which should be used is to place
7 them in an atmosphere with the highest obtainable
8 concentration of C02 and a source of 100 per cent C02
9 should, therefore, be used as the disposing agent. This is
10 the most humane method and detailed advice on its use is
11 given in ADAS Advisory Publication P568". What is ADAS?
12 A. That stands for the Agricultural Development and
13 Advisory Service which is a government advisory
14 organisation.
15
16 Q. Then it goes on to recite alternative methods where small
17 numbers are involved, do you see that?
18 A. Yes.
19
20 Q. Then it says: "Whatever method is used, the chick should
21 be thoroughly inspected afterwards to ensure that they are
22 all dead". Do you do that?
23 A. Yes, we do.
24
25 Q. Over the page: "Methods of killing which involves
26 suffocation by tightly packing the unwanted chicks in a
27 confined space or by drowning or in which irritant liquids
28 such as carbon tetrachloride are allowed to come into
29 direct contact with chicks are inhumane and must not be
30 used". Do you observe that prohibition?
31 A. Yes, we do.
32
33 Q. So you do not squash them into a tub?
34 A. No, we do not.
35
36 Q. And you do not use stuff like carbon tetrachloride?
37 A. No.
38
39 Q. And you do not drown them?
40 A. We do not, no.
41
42 MS. STEEL: Can I just ask, I am not sure whether this comes
43 under the category of leading, but it just strikes me it
44 might be better if the witness was actually asked what he
45 does, rather than being pointed at what the regulations
46 were and saying: "Do you comply with that?"
47
48 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, that is perfectly right, but what I am
49 asking at the moment is what he does not do, and that is a
50 rather difficult thing to do without pointing him to a
51 prohibition.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
54
55 MS. STEEL: The question before was, what does he do, the one
56 about using C02.
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. He said that he followed the MAFF
59 guideline. I have then taken him to the MAFF guideline.
60 I am coming back to a description which he will give of
