Day 003 - 30 Jun 94 - Page 17
1 responsible for torture and murder?" This appears, as you
shortly see, to be a reference to the slaughter of
2 animals. Skip the first two paragraphs, please:
"Murdering a Big Mac. In the slaughterhouse, animals
3 often struggle to escape." Do you know of any evidence on
that score?
4 A. No.
5 Q. "Cattle become frantic as they watch the animal before
them in the killing-line being prodded, beaten,
6 electrocuted, and knifed." So far as you are aware, is
that true or false?
7 A. It is false.
8 Q. "A recent British government report criticised inefficient
stunning methods", I am not asking you about what the
9 British government report said, I am asking you about
McDonald's and their suppliers, "which frequently result
10 in animals having their throats cut while still fully
conscious".
11
Do you, Mr. Preston, as head of this organisation in whose
12 cause large numbers of animals every year are killed and
consumed by human beings, know of any evidence that
13 inefficient stunning methods used in the slaughter of
those animals means that the animals frequently have their
14 throats cut while they are still fully conscious?
A. I do not.
15
Q. If you did, Mr. Preston, if you had such evidence, if you
16 had evidence that the cattle struggled to escape, that
they became frantic, and so on and so forth, that their
17 conditions of keeping and rearing were inhumane and cruel,
what would you do about it?
18 A. If I found out that was going on, I would counsel the
supplier. If I found it to go on having been counselled,
19 I would terminate the supplier -- he would never sell to
me again.
20
Q. I do not believe that this is a contested matter,
21 Mr. Preston; do McDonald's own any chickens, pigs or cows?
A. We do not.
22
Q. Do you own any slaughter houses?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Do you own any meat processing plants?
A. We do not.
25
Q. How then do you ensure that these horrendous practices are
26 not going on behind your back before the meat reaches you?
A. We have a purchasing department, quality assurance
27 department, who regularly monitor what is happening, both
on, as I said earlier, an unannounced and announced
28 basis. We have veterinarians who regularly visit the
plants randomly to determine what, in fact, is happening.
29
There are European community laws regarding what has to be
30 done. They are monitored. Documentation is liaised
between those veterinarian facilities and the suppliers
