Day 291 - 31 Oct 96 - Page 20


     
     1        again that I think it was effectively said that in the end
     2        it was okay because they re-shot the cow.  Well, this is
     3        another example that if Dr. Gregory had not been there,
     4        then due to the pressures on through-put of the animals
     5        through the slaughter plant they may very well have just
     6        carried on regardless.
     7
     8        Just in relation to the point I was making a moment ago
     9        about the 2.5 grain cartridge previously being used, if you
    10        look at - I don't mean now - if you look at day 18, page
    11        77, line 11 -- well, if you start at line 10, Dr. Gregory
    12        said:  In terms of stunning the cattle themselves, the
    13        accuracy of the shooting is one thing which has been
    14        touched upon and that to some extent is a problem where
    15        under-sized cartridges are used.  Under-sized cartridges
    16        would be where the management is trying to cut costs.  This
    17        does happen sometimes, only occasionally, but some plants,
    18        yes.  He said, following that, that that was something that
    19        there had been an improvement in since the recommendations
    20        following the 1984 Farm Animal Welfare Council report,
    21        which is referred to in the London Greenpeace fact sheet.
    22
    23        And lower down the page he says:  It was evident in the
    24        plants I visited in the course of these proceedings that
    25        they were using the right combination of power cartridge,
    26        size of animal and the right gun.  He was asked:  Was that
    27        an improvement on what had been used previously.  He said:
    28        Yes.  One of the weaknesses was that people were using a
    29        2.5 grain cartridge for large cattle in the 1987 reported
    30        survey.  It was an under-powered cartridge for some
    31        cattle.  He said he did not know whether or not in that
    32        survey that was referring to a McKey supplier, but
    33        obviously we now know from the evidence of Mr. Chambers
    34        that they were using 2.5 grain cartridges and they would
    35        have been at that time.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes.  (Pause).
    38
    39   MS. STEEL:   I forgot to mention this other reference about it
    40        for Dr. Gregory, is day 18, page 54, line 5.  Dr. Gregory
    41        said that many people in the animal welfare science would
    42        consider that one of the main welfare problems in the dairy
    43        industry is laminitis, and it is usually associated with
    44        conditions where the cow is exposed to wet conditions
    45        underfoot, if it has to trample through silage effluent
    46        which is particularly acidic, it can be associated with
    47        nutrition prior to calving and so on.  (Pause)
    48
    49        I think I have finished with Dr. Gregory.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Who are you going to next?  Are you going to 
    52        go back to Dr. Long? 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:  Yes.  I have not got a massive amount for him.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  We will break off now until 2 o'clock.  It is
    57        a bit longer than normal but it will give you a bit of time
    58        to see what you have got left.
    59
    60                         (Luncheon Adjournment)

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