Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 23
1 recommendations.
2
3 Q. You said that you were comfortable with the stocking
4 density as long as the equipment is able to support it.
5 A. Yes. What I said yesterday was that we do vary the
6 stocking density and reduce it if the housing facility is
7 not adequate to support that number of birds. That is a
8 very important part of farming practice, to be able to vary
9 the number of birds in the house according to whether it is
10 summer or winter and also according to the insulation and
11 the equipment standards in the house.
12
13 Q. You said that the MAFF recommendations were based on the
14 average facility up and down the country?
15 A. That is correct.
16
17 Q. Why do the MAFF then recommend that the stocking density
18 should never go over 34?
19 A. That is a code of recommendation which is based -- as
20 I say, if it is based on average facilities up and down the
21 country, it is not really allowing for units that have
22 up-to-date modern facilities.
23
24 Q. Can you get down the Defendants' Second Supplementary List
25 of documents, please?
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What is the number of the document?
28
29 MS. STEEL: No. 27. It will be in Supplementary bundle II,
30 I think.
31 A. What number was it, please?
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: 27.
34
35 MS. STEEL: 27. It is the Farm Animal Welfare Council, Report
36 on the Welfare of Broiler Chickens we were looking at
37 yesterday?
38 A. Yes.
39
40 Q. If you could turn to page 10 and look at paragraph 22
41 firstly?
42 A. Yes.
43
44 Q. Halfway through it says: "As a result, and in the absence
45 of the scientific evidence required as above, we conclude
46 that the current recommended maximum stocking density of 34
47 kilograms per metre squared is acceptable, provided
48 adherence to it is strictly enforced. In this regard we
49 consider that stocking densities should be controlled by
50 Regulation and not by Welfare Code alone".
51 A. Yes.
52
53 Q. You would agree with that?
54 A. I think it is a good basic principle, as I say, based
55 on average facilities across the country.
56
57 Q. Then No. 23, it says: "We therefore recommend that 34
58 kilograms per metre squared is retained as the maximum
59 stocking density, which should not be exceeded at any time
60 during the growing period; and that this maximum is
