Day 066 - 14 Dec 94 - Page 35


     
     1        the form of raw materials, muscle.
     2
     3   Q.   It must be Australia then.
     4
     5   MR. RAMPTON:  This must be a misdescription of the Australian
     6        facility, my Lord.  That is quite right.
     7        A.  And I must add, one of our finest facilities in the 70
     8        countries we work out or operate on is located in
     9        Australia.
    10
    11   Q.   Is Australia?
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   If you turn over the next page, again it is a Malaysian
    15        document, here it says that the present supplier is Mac
    16        Food Malaysia, but the source of the raw material is
    17        China.  Do you see that?
    18        A.  Yes.
    19
    20   Q.   I think it says "China" but, in fact, some of it is
    21        exported to Singapore?
    22        A.  That is correct.
    23
    24   Q.   Can I ask you whether you know, is it likely that the
    25        cattle are transported live from China to Malaysia?
    26        A.  No, no.  We do not transport any live cattle around the
    27        world.  It is only beef in the form of raw materials, of
    28        muscle.
    29
    30   Q.   Here you see mostly "yes" answers; "no" to the question
    31        about the prod.  Then against "stunning practice" you see
    32         "spinal cord severed with knife behind atlas bone" and
    33        beneath that "yes" to the question about "religious
    34        slaughter", "Halal".  What is the method of slaughtering
    35        which involves the insertion of a knife and the severing of
    36        the spinal cord behind the atlas bone?
    37        A.  It is a religious practice where they stick a knife and
    38        cut the spinal cord.
    39
    40   Q.   Are you able to tell us, Dr. Gonzales, from your own
    41        knowledge of the business, to what extent the countries of
    42        the Far East, Thailand -- I am trying to do it in order but
    43        I will probably get it wrong -- Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan,
    44        Hong Kong and so on, grow their own cattle for use
    45        domestically?
    46        A.  Most of them are not self-sufficient.  In the countries
    47        that we operate, most of the meat, the beef, comes from
    48        other sources.  It could be the United States or it could
    49        be Australia, those countries or New Zealand, those are the
    50        major sources of beef for our suppliers. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Yes.  I notice that in the Malaysian section -- this may 
    53        just be an error of filing but I think not -- there is a
    54        statement about the slaughtering practices in Uruguay?
    55        A.  Yes.
    56
    57   Q.   Which states that the product is exported to Malaysia?
    58        A.  That is correct.
    59
    60   Q.   So they might get some beef from South America as well?

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