Day 093 - 28 Feb 95 - Page 43
1
2 Q. Is that right?
3
4 MS. STEEL: Is that the same for pigs and cattle as well?
5 A. Yes, it is.
6
7 Q. In the United States, I think you said that poultry
8 slaughter was governed by the US DA?
9 A. Yes, it is.
10
11 Q. The documents that are from the US DA about slaughter
12 regulations do not mention chickens, do they?
13 A. No they do not but the entire plant is regulated by the
14 United States Department of Agriculture.
15
16 Q. They are regulations for red meat animals, are they not?
17 A. They have regulations for cattle, for meals, for pigs,
18 for chickens. The plants are regulated too.
19
20 Q. The slaughterhouses?
21 A. The whole thing -- the slaughterhouses, yes, they are.
22 The method of slaughter is not required -- is not specified
23 on chickens. The slaughterhouses, they are.
24
25 Q. Right. So what part of the chicken process is -----
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I just do not understand that. Either the
28 method of slaughter of chickens is regulated in some way or
29 it is not. What do you mean that the method of slaughter
30 is not specified but the slaughterhouses are?
31 A. OK. The slaughterhouses which is the entire complex,
32 it is regulated by the United States Department of
33 Agriculture. The same department does not specify that the
34 animals have to be slaughtered through a regulated process.
35
36 Q. When you say "regulated" do you mean it has to have a
37 licence, do you?
38 A. Absolutely. It has to have a licence, it has to
39 have -----
40
41 Q. So it has to be approved by US DA?
42 A. Yes.
43
44 Q. But they do not have a specified method of slaughter?
45 A. Yes, that is correct.
46
47 MS. STEEL: The approval, is that for reasons of hygiene?
48 A. For a lot of reasons -- one of them is hygiene, yes.
49
50 Q. What are the other reasons then?
51 A. Oh, there are a lot of regulations. There is an entire
52 book but it includes everything from labelling, from
53 transportation to the correct identification of parts,
54 pieces, the weights of the boxes, waste.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Why not ask just him straight out ---
57
58 MS. STEEL: So it is not about welfare?
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- has it got anything to do with animal
