Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 09


     
     1   Q.   They must have been in work then for at least a year before
     2        you joined them?
     3        A.  Yes, they were.
     4
     5   Q.   So far as you were aware, what was the purpose of doing
     6        this work and producing this report?
     7        A.  Well, the purpose of the reports is to advise the
     8        Minister of Agriculture if any changes are required, either
     9        in codes of practice or legislation, to the way that
    10        animals are kept and in this case broiler chickens.
    11
    12   Q.   Did the stimulus for this report come from the council or
    13        did it come from the government, do you know?
    14        A.  I am not sure exactly how they review when reports are
    15        being produced, but there is a permanent Secretariat to the
    16        Farm Animal Welfare Council who worked for the Ministry of
    17        Agriculture and I think they are involved in briefing the
    18        Minister as to when, perhaps, changes in legislation or
    19        updates are required.
    20
    21   Q.   Can you just help us finally on this page, please -- just
    22        doing my own head count -- about Professor Spedding, what
    23        is he a professor of?  He is Chairman of the Council?
    24        A.  Yes, he is retired now.  He was a Professor of
    25        Agriculture at Reading University and is well-known for his
    26        academic work and teaching.
    27
    28   Q.   Does he have any, what shall I say, industry taint attached
    29        to him?
    30        A.  No, I think he is regarded as somebody who is very
    31        willing to look at the scientific aspects of farming,
    32        rather than being in the hands of any particular
    33        organisation.
    34
    35   Q.   In your work at Sun Valley, indeed before, have you come
    36        into contact with the people in the Ministry of Agriculture
    37         -- is it called the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
    38        Food nowadays?
    39        A.  Yes, it is.
    40
    41   Q.   MAFF, let us call it for short, if we may.  The people in
    42        MAFF have responsibility for animal welfare?
    43        A.  Before I -- as part of my work in Sun Valley before
    44        I joined Farm Animal Welfare Council, I only had very arm's
    45        length dealings with them, so the answer, really, is not
    46        very much contact.
    47
    48   Q.   Do you see MAFF people down at the farm, as it were?
    49        A.  I have a lot of contacts with MAFF in various forms.
    50        We require export certificates and licences to export stock 
    51        or export products.  We have a, MAFF supervision is an 
    52        important part of the way we run or factories.  So, I have 
    53        a lot of day, well, if not day-to-day, at least week to
    54        week contact with the MAFF.
    55
    56   Q.   What sort of level of MAFF official do you meet day-to-day
    57        or week to week?
    58        A.  It varies enormously.  They have lots of different
    59        grades of people, but the day-to-day contact would be with
    60        veterinary officers and then with senior officers as and

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