Day 146 - 03 Jul 95 - Page 19
1
2 There is no mention in the statement, the witness
3 statement, of the allegation that the pithing rod itself
4 constitutes a contamination hazard because it goes through
5 the head and into the body of the beast. Mr. Bone deals
6 with that (as one would expect) by saying: Well, no, it
7 does not; it goes down the spinal cord so it never touches
8 the muscle".
9
10 Paragraph 23, again an unnoticed allegation in Ms. Hovi's
11 statement, that the meat inspectors and the OVS do not have
12 access or easy access to sterilizers and hand basins.
13 Easily enough dealt with if one knows that it is going to
14 be made.
15
16 Then, my Lord, in paragraph 24, the confusion of Ms. Hovi
17 by the creation of an additional one or two people between
18 those who stun, shackle, pith, hoist, stick the animal. In
19 fact, they are all the same person. Once again, if one had
20 known Ms. Hovi was subject to that kind of confusion and
21 made that kind of an error, one would have been able to
22 deal with it.
23
24 MR. MORRIS: Can we make a strong objection to the way
25 Mr. Rampton is conducting this application by constant
26 reference to the inadequacy of our witness? I just think
27 it is completely unacceptable.
28
29 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I shall continue in a similar vein.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We are having an argument about it. I have
32 seen nothing offensive in the way Mr. Rampton is doing it.
33 You will have your opportunity to answer if, in fact, you
34 do want to oppose Mr. Bone being called to give evidence.
35
36 MS. STEEL: The thing is that Mr. Rampton keeps saying that she
37 is confused. The point is we have had her evidence. We
38 have not had any evidence from Mr. Bone. As Mr. Rampton
39 keeps saying, what someone says in a statement is not
40 evidence.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We really do not have to worry about that.
43 We are in chambers. You must trust me to distinguish what
44 is argument and what may be evidence in due course.
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I have, for perfectly good reasons of
47 saving time, obviously telescoped what I am saying. If the
48 Defendants wish me to say every single time that if this is
49 a confusion and we had had notice of it Mr. Bone would
50 expose it I will, but, frankly, it is a waste of time.
51
52 My Lord, page 13, paragraph 25, at the top; that again is a
53 completely new allegation about the lack of sterilization
54 for hide puller chains. It is, of course, a facet of a
55 general proposition there is no proper separation between
56 the dirty and clean, but if one is a Jarrett person and one
57 knows that all the high puller chains are sterilized, one
58 is not going to think to oneself one is not capable -- at
59 least I am not -- of that kind of imaginative exercise,
60 "Oh, well, she might be saying that the high puller chains
