Day 061 - 05 Dec 94 - Page 53


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, Mr. Morris?
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  On page 5, as far as I can find it, of
     5        Mr. Gregory's evidence on day 20 which was 28th July at the
     6        bottom there was a reference to the codes of practice for
     7        the Welfare of Poultry at Slaughter from MAFF:  "Faults
     8        leading to birds receiving prestun shocks are unacceptable
     9        and must be corrected".  Over the page -- to be honest,
    10        I mean, sometimes this does not necessarily occur in one
    11        sentence.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, but what you do then is pick a sentence
    14        which you think is important, make sure that it is a fair
    15        representation of his evidence and put that to Mr. Oakley.
    16
    17   MR. MORRIS:  Page 7, line 21, talking about prestun shots.  "It
    18        unpleasant?"  "Yes".  Line 24:   "You consider it painful?"
    19        "Yes".  "It is something that would cause stress?" on page
    20        8, line 2.  "Oh, yes, it is alarming, very alarming".
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Your question was that you said:
    23         "Dr. Gregory, so far as I recall, said:  'Stunning and
    24        killing methods at Sun Valley did not comply with the
    25        government codes of practice, and might lead to distress
    26        and pain to the birds'."
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:  Helen is going to look for it while we carry on.
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You see, put like that it might be thought
    31        you were putting to Mr. Oakley that stunning and killing
    32        methods at Sun Valley generally did not comply with the
    33        government's codes of practice.  If that is so, you ought
    34        to find just what Mr. Gregory said.  Anyway, we will have
    35        to look at Dr. Gregory's evidence in due course as to just
    36        what it said.  Mr. Oakley, for better or worse, has said
    37        that if there were, in effect, more than the occasional or
    38        isolated breach of proper procedures ----
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  Let me just maybe go over some old ground.
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Try not to go over old ground.  Try to go
    43        over some new ground with the witness.
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  Mr. Gregory said (and it can be challenged, no
    46        doubt, at the end of the case, whatever) that of the birds
    47        he had studied 44 per cent of the chickens had leg
    48        abnormalities, yes?  I put it to you, Mr. Oakley, that if
    49        chickens are forced to live (and we can argue about
    50        Dr. Gregory's evidence) to within an A4 sheet size of 
    51        paper, and in battery cages in five to a cage and wire 
    52        their feet on wire mesh, and in the broiler sheds 44 per 
    53        cent chickens had leg abnormalities, and that young chicks
    54        were dumped into dustbin sized containers and gassed if
    55        they were rejected by the company; during transportation to
    56        the slaughterhouse many have received bruises and broken
    57        bones, some dying us a result; up to 14 per cent of the
    58        chickens received prestun shocks, if it is shown, that is
    59        the evidence of your expert witness, you do not care about
    60        animal welfare at all do you?  You have not got the

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