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.
    21
    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.
    48
    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?

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