Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 71


     
     1
         Q.   I think it is tab B.
     2
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is it B again?
     3
         MS. STEEL:   Yes.  The last paragraph on that page says that
     4        the metal electrode of the water bath stunner did not span
              the length of the water bath, and that this would lead to
     5        uneven current flow through the birds as they progressed
              through the water bath.
     6        A.  Yes.
 
     7   Q.   If the birds were only in the water bath for about four
              seconds, they may not be getting sufficient current to
     8        stun them properly.
 
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, one needs to turn over the page.  It may
              not be an instantaneous stun, but one needs to read the
    10        first paragraph on the next page.
 
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What do you say about that?  Did you see
              evidence of incomplete stunning on earlier occasions?
    12        A.  When the birds exited the bath they were stunned.
 
    13   MS. STEEL:   There are degrees of stunning, are there not?  You
              need to be sure that -----
    14        A.  Can I add one comment?
 
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, do.
              A.  It is not possible to determine whether the birds were
    16        instantaneously stunned in this sort of situation.
 
    17   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No?
              A.  So we do not know what happens early on when the
    18        electrode did not span the length of the bath; when the
              birds came out of the bath, yes, I could do a diagnosis.
    19
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I thought it was being suggested to you that
    20        if the electrode did not extend to the full length of the
              bath, quite apart from the point you just made, it might
    21        be that the birds were incompletely stunned by the time
              they came out of the bath.  I was asking what you say
    22        about that?
              A.  I see.  My answer still stands.  So when they exited
    23        the bath they were all stunned, in a stunned state.
 
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Ms. Steel started to ask you another
              question arising from that.
    25
         MS. STEEL:   Right. 
    26 
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It related to degrees of stunning. 
    27
         MS. STEEL:   When an animal is stunned electrically, you need
    28        to be sure not just that its muscles are out of action,
              you need to be sure it has actually lost its sentience or
    29        feeling?
              A.  Yes.
    30
         Q.   That is affected, is it not, by the amount of current and

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