Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 60


     
     1        you give some rough guidance on how many?
              A.  What type of injury are you thinking of?
     2
         Q.   Injuries caused by loading, handling for loading?
     3        A.  When I said what type of injuries, I meant which part
              of the body of the bird.
     4
         Q.   Any really?
     5        A.  The most common form of injury in the live bird due to
              handling would be red wing tips.  It is a bruising in the
     6        wing tips sustained by flapping and hitting a hard object.
 
     7   Q.   Right.  In terms of the numbers that -- do you have any
              idea how many of these are likely to end up dead, how many
     8        are likely to go on to the slaughter line?
              A.  In the case of red wing tips, it is not likely to kill
     9        any of the birds.  They are all likely to be live when
              they are hung on.  The prevalence will vary considerably
    10        according to how well the birds are caught, what the level
              of lighting is, for example, in the shed at catching; the
    11        higher the lighting the more the birds will flap. The
              predisposition of the birds; some birds either because of
    12        a genetic factor or for some behavioural component which
              is non-genetic, do tend to flap more than those in the
    13        industry have referred to as "flighty" birds.
 
    14   Q.   What about things like dislocations then or maybe more
              serious than the red wing tips?
    15        A.  As I said earlier on, where you have a dislocated hip
              it is likely you will get an extensive haemorrhage which
    16        will kill the bird.  Having said that, I have at one of
              the plants here in this survey, they had dislocated hips
    17        which were identified at the postmortem inspection.  That
              is the meat inspector who is deciding whether the meat is
    18        fit for human consumption.  He identified dislocated hips
              in the birds that had gone through and, evidently, been
    19        hung on line.  So, it can happen that you can get some
              birds going through with dislocated hips.  But my first
    20        comment still stands, though, it is unlikely to kill them.
 
    21   Q.   What about other injury, say, in between?
              A.  Right.  Other parts of the carcass, do you mean?
    22
         Q.   Any part of the bird.
    23        A.  Other dislocations could occur particularly in the
              wings.  That is an area that is prone to dislocations.
    24        I have seen birds suspended on shackles with dislocated
              wings.  As to where in the whole procedure it is caused,
    25        it is difficult -- I do not know to be sure which is the
              most important procedure, whether it is hanging on in the 
    26        processing plant or whether it is at catching.  No 
              comment. 
    27
         Q.   Hanging on the shackles?
    28        A.  Correct.  If you look in table 3, it gives a
              prevalence of these sorts of -----
    29
         Q.   Which page are we on?
    30        A.  I beg your pardon.  This is of K in the orange file.
              It gives the prevalence of these dislocations in the dead

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