Day 103 - 14 Mar 95 - Page 56


     
     1        it is very scientific.
     2
     3   MS. STEEL:   You would accept that the time to brain failure is
     4        unduly long and there is a danger that the birds may regain
     5        consciousness before they die?
     6        A.  I do not think I would accept that because I have not
     7        seen that by observation.  I think there is a difference
     8        between scientific postulation and actual practical
     9        reality.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not forget this is an article written by
    12        Dr. Gregory.  That paragraph refers to another article
    13        written by Dr. Gregory and really all that does at most is
    14        to take me back to the evidence Dr. Gregory has actually
    15        given in relation to this case.
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:  Part of the problem is we did ask Dr. Gregory if
    18        experiments have been done on DC stunning and he said no.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The fact is I have got Dr. Gregory's answers
    21        which I will look at as part of the evidence in the case.
    22        It is very difficult, in fact I am sure I cannot do it, the
    23        Court of Appeal's judgment has said as much which I think
    24        I have referred to more than once in this case, I cannot
    25        take a learned article which has not been specifically
    26        averred by one of the scientific witnesses in preference to
    27        the evidence of scientific witnesses; even more so I cannot
    28        take something written by Dr. Gregory to carry weight in so
    29        far as it may be different to what he has actually said in
    30        the witness box.  If you call someone who relies upon it,
    31        then the evidence of that witness will become part of the
    32        material in the case.  In any event, as I have said, part
    33        of the paragraph is the last sentence in the paragraph,
    34        take it all as a bundle of comment.
    35
    36   MS. STEEL:   That is a big "if".  It does not appear that
    37        anything has been investigated on that front.
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It takes me back to Dr. Gregory's evidence.
    40
    41   MS. STEEL:  But then he said that they had not investigated DC
    42        currents, so there would not be anything on that anyway.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am trying to make the point because I do
    45        not want you to be under any allusion about it, that an
    46        article like this is not free-standing evidence in its own
    47        right.
    48
    49   MS. STEEL:  No, I understand that.  If you could turn over to
    50        the following document, Dr. Gregory recommends there a 120 
    51        milliamps per bird as an acceptable current of DC current. 
    52        What would you say to that? 
    53        A.  All I can say is that that is why we asked him in to
    54        look at our system, to see if he could determine whether it
    55        was working acceptably.  He came to the conclusion that it
    56        was.
    57
    58   Q.   Well, he said it was not ideal from a welfare point of
    59        view.
    60        A.  Well, all I can repeat is what I have already said.  At

Prev Next Index