Day 020 - 28 Jul 94 - Page 83
1
Q. It might be perhaps, as you told us yesterday, they are
2 not very good fliers?
A. I think that has a lot to do with it.
3
Q. Can you give us a rough estimate again for comparative
4 mortality in the three systems?
A. Yes. Do we wish to compare at best or do we wish to
5 compare sloppy?
6 Q. No. Let us take a well run establishment in both cases?
A. I think the mortalities would be comparable.
7
Q. In all three kinds of outfit?
8 A. Certainly between free range and battery cages.
I have asked this very same question to farmers who keep
9 both systems. I have come back, been given figures which
were comparable.
10
MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, those are all the questions in
11 reexamination.
12 THE WITNESS: Can I rejoin on that? I did mention, where you
have an outbreak of cannibalism, I used this as a
13 rejoinder before, it can be high in the alternative
system.
14
MR. RAMPTON: Can I ask one thing about that? Is cannibalism
15 in any way connected with the good or bad management of
the establishment, or is it something that happens
16 spontaneously?
A. That is a good question.
17
Q. You always say that when you do not know the answer.
18 A. Yes, that is a prelude to it. It is thought that it
is intimately associated with stocking density. The
19 evidence for that does not exist one way or another.
20 MR. RAMPTON: Thank you, Dr. Gregory.
21 MS. STEEL: Can I ask something about that? When you were
giving the figure about breakages of bones at 24 per cent
22 in loose housed, there is actually a wide variety of
housing that would come under that term, were there not?
23 A. That is correct. In that particular figure I provided
it was perchery though. It was a little closer. But
24 there are many types of barn systems, but the perchery is
one type of barn system.
25
Q. In some of those there can be as many as 25 pens in a
26 meter squared?
A. Yes.
27
Q. They are not what you would call your farmyard hen, you
28 know, they are not like running around at will?
A. Let me explain. There are free range systems
29 so-called which use the same indoor stocking density as
the one you quote and they have access to out of doors at
30 certain times of the day. I think the system you are
referring to would be a small scale production unit where
