Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 48
1
2 Q. About 2,000 birds were killed on that occasion?
3 A. Yes.
4
5 Q. What happens to the injured birds that are lying in the
6 road?
7 A. They are, generally -- if they are badly injured, they
8 are culled on the spot, and certainly one of the -- I mean,
9 that is the recommendation that we have to handle that
10 situation which, let us face it, should never happen
11 really. So, the injured birds are killed and put in the
12 modules to be disposed of later.
13
14 Q. Is that just the birds that are visibly injured?
15 A. Yes.
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Finish with trailers tipping, if you have
18 more to ask, and then we will have the break.
19
20 MS. STEEL: No.
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22 MR. MORRIS: Could I ask one question? Just on visible
23 injuries, what percentage of injuries generally a bird
24 might sustain would be visible as opposed to invisible?
25 A. Well, it can be quite difficult to tell if a bird is
26 injured, because sometimes it does not show any obvious
27 outward signs, even if the leg is dislocated or if a wing
28 is broken. Unless you actually pick up the wing and look
29 at it underneath, you cannot always see that it is broken
30 so it can be very difficult to tell.
31
32 Q. So what percentage do you feel of injuries, realistically,
33 you could be expected to see when you look at a bird, say,
34 for example, arriving at the slaughterhouse?
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The question is difficult to answer, is it
37 not, because your only form of a test is a visual one?
38 A. Yes.
39
40 Q. So if you have not seen it, you do not know of it?
41 A. Exactly, that is correct.
42
43 MR. MORRIS: There must have been some research, though, or it
44 might come out later on the production that this bird was,
45 in fact, injured?
46 A. It would only come out later on the protection line
47 when you actually see every individual bird.
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49 Q. Do you have any idea what percentage is you might be
50 seeing, one in 10 or one in two?
51 A. I would not say.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can you give any help as to what injuries
54 might be being missed?
55 A. I really cannot, I am sorry.
56
57 (Short Adjournment)
58
59 MS. STEEL: What happens to the birds on arrival at the plant in
60 the yard?
