Day 288 - 28 Oct 96 - Page 03
1 say that is. I mean, do you agree with the "utterly
2 indifferent" which Mr. Rampton put forward, or would you
3 contend that it is something like McDonald's condone some
4 cruel and inhumane practices in the rearing and
5 slaughtering of what, for shorthand, we will call their
6 animals?
7
8 MS. STEEL: Right.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think essentially one has to think what it
11 means, and then you can think of the ramifications. The
12 reason I ask you to do that is it occurs to me it may be
13 more difficult to prove indifference than it may be to
14 prove something like humane and cruel practices, because
15 people can be cruel without being utterly indifferent.
16 Maybe that is why Mr. Rampton drafted it in that way, I do
17 not know. But that is the sort of thing at some stage, I
18 just want you to say something on.
19
20 MS. STEEL: I am ready to say something about that. But can I
21 just say that Caseview has stopped working. Mr. Rampton
22 seems to have the same problem.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: I have a pen and piece of paper, my Lord. I do
25 not need Caseview for a moment.
26
27 (Short Adjournment)
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes?
30
31 MS. STEEL: Obviously there are various facts set out in the
32 animals section of the fact sheet, and I will go through
33 those, but we contend that the overall sting of the section
34 about animals is that animals are suffering as a result of
35 the methods used to rear and slaughter them and that
36 McDonald's are responsible for that suffering, for the
37 animals that are used in their products.
38
39 We do not accept the Plaintiffs' pleaded meaning that the
40 overall sting of this section of the leaflet is that
41 McDonald's are utterly indifferent to the welfare of the
42 animals which are used to produce their food. There is
43 nothing stated in the fact sheet about McDonald's state of
44 mind towards the animals; rather there are just facts set
45 out relating to the methods of rearing and slaughter.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
48
49 MS. STEEL: I mean, as it happens, we do believe that
50 McDonald's are utterly indifferent to the welfare of the
51 animals that are reared to make the meat for their products
52 and we believe that there has been ample evidence during
53 the course of this trial to prove that. However, we do not
54 think that because that evidence has been heard that means
55 that the meaning alleged by the Plaintiffs should be
56 imputed into the fact sheet.
57
58 If I can also say that we do not accept that the Plaintiffs
59 have set out the facts correctly in their Statement of
60 Claim either. I am going to go through the entire animal
