Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 39


     
     1   Q.   Would the pit last the same length as the birds lived?
     2        A.  That would be the normal practice.
     3
     4   Q.   So it would be 52 days?
     5        A.  Yes.
     6
     7   Q.   That is on the same farm where the chickens are?
     8        A.  It is normally on the same farm, but some distance away
     9        from the poultry houses.
    10
    11   Q.   How far away, usually?
    12        A.  Well, the recommendation is that it should be at least
    13        50 metres away.
    14
    15   Q.   But some of them will be closer than that?
    16        A.  Well, occasionally if a farmer chooses to take a risk
    17        that can happen, but it is pretty rare.
    18
    19   Q.   What is the situation with checks at the weekend?  Do the
    20        farmers make checks at the weekend?
    21        A.  They do make checks at the weekend.  Saturday and
    22        Sunday is the same as any other day in farming.  The only
    23        difference sometimes is that they would not do as many
    24        checks on a Sunday as they might do in an ordinary working
    25        day.
    26
    27   Q.   Would there be the same number of staff on duty on a
    28        Sunday?
    29        A.  Not necessarily, no.  There would be a duty manager on
    30        the site at all times.
    31
    32   Q.   Would there be a farm hand on site all weekend?
    33        A.  Yes, most farmers have that arrangement.
    34
    35   Q.   But at weekends there are less staff, generally?
    36        A.  Generally so.
    37
    38   Q.   That is Saturday as well as Sunday?
    39        A.  In some cases there are.
    40
    41   Q.   What is the BCT sheet?
    42        A.  That is just the recording sheet that shows the name of
    43        the farm, the number of the house, the number of birds on
    44        the load, and it is attached to the end of a module so that
    45        it can be identified in the arrival area.
    46
    47   Q.   Does it record the numbers of dead and injured birds that
    48        are found in the sheds?
    49        A.  No, it does not.
    50 
    51   Q.   Does it have any record of the numbers that are injured 
    52        during catching or during transport? 
    53        A.  No, it does not.
    54
    55   Q.   It does not.  You said that you do not have a problem from
    56        birds getting chilling on the transport when they are being
    57        transported, and that the system you have seems to conserve
    58        body heat.  Do the numbers of mortality at the
    59        dead-on-arrivals increase during the summer?
    60        A.  No, the dead-on-arrival are fairly constant throughout

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