Day 111 - 30 Mar 95 - Page 59
1 Q. Did they do that as a routine?
2 A. No -- why should they do? Nobody -----
3
4 Q. So they would not know?
5 A. As far as -----
6
7 Q. Hang on. Could I clarify?
8 A. Yes.
9
10 Q. So they would not know that animals came from herds that
11 were BSE-free -----
12
13 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord, I am sorry.
14
15 MR. MORRIS: It is relevant to the dismissal.
16
17 MR. RAMPTON: It is not relevant to the dismissal at all
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is not relevant to the dismissal issue at
20 all. Ms. Hovi has given the reasons for the dismissal. We
21 will see if they are challenged. If they are challenged,
22 no doubt at some stage I might have to decide whether they
23 have any relevance to the credibility which I attach to her
24 evidence.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: You mentioned culled cows, what percentage of
27 cattle coming through Jarretts while you were there were
28 culled cows?
29 A. I would say about 50 per cent. But, as I said, this
30 was an unusual time of the year. They were slaughtering
31 more cattle than normal because of the lack of sheep in the
32 market. But during the time I was there, it was about 50
33 per cent.
34
35 Q. From the material that would have gone to McDonald's rather
36 than for export, what percentage would have been culled
37 cows or would it have been a greater percentage or a lesser
38 percentage?
39 A. I would not be able to say that. It would be very
40 difficult to comment on that.
41
42 Q. Have you any idea of the ages of the cows or cattle that
43 arrive or the range of ages of the cattle that arrive at
44 Jarretts?
45 A. As I said before, no ageing as such of the cattle is
46 done at the abattoirs. The only way to do it would be by
47 teeth.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think you are being asked -- presumably you
50 make antemortem examinations?
51 A. Yes.
52
53 Q. If you could from that usefully recall what sort of age you
54 think the cows were; you may tell me, no, you cannot judge
55 that easily or you may say: "Well, I thought they were
56 mostly this, that or the other age". You are just
57 generally being asked whether you can help because you not
58 only seen the meat which other people have seen, and I have
59 heard evidence about the colour of the fat and the extent
60 to which, if at all, that may help to judge the age, but
