Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 19
1 heat stress? How are they disposed of?
2 A. They would usually be disposed of by burial.
3
4 Q. So they are not eaten by humans?
5 A. Oh, no.
6
7 Q. To put it bluntly -- I will ask you another question in a
8 minute -- a bird which has died of heat stress is one which
9 does not make money for the company?
10 A. That is correct.
11
12 Q. On the contrary, it is a net loss because it has cost money
13 in getting to that stage. It will, I am sure, be suggested
14 to you by the Defendants that your only interest in animal
15 welfare is that it maintains the maximum number of birds in
16 a condition fit to be consumed by humans in the restaurant
17 or on the domestic table. What is your reaction to that?
18 A. Well, I would defend that very strongly and, having had
19 personal experience of high mortality from disease in
20 situations, for example, where we had an outbreak of
21 Gumboro disease, I find it very distressing to go to farms
22 and see large numbers of birds dead or dying, and that is
23 not something that I like to see. I regard it as part of
24 my job to ensure that that does not happen and that we
25 continuously improve our operation.
26
27 Q. Do you accept that chickens can feel pain, distress and
28 discomfort?
29 A. We assume they can. We do not know exactly how they
30 feel it, but we have to assume that as they are living
31 creatures that they will feel it in some form.
32
33 Q. Unless we assume that, it would not be in the least
34 distressing to see them in a condition which we would call
35 "suffering", would it?
36 A. That is correct.
37
38 Q. Can we go back to the beginning or, indeed, before the
39 beginning of the broiler chicken's life, Dr. Pattison?
40 Before I go through it from preconception to the chicken
41 McNugget, have you read the report of Dr. Neville Gregory
42 that he wrote for this case?
43 A. Yes, I have.
44
45 Q. Were you there when he came to visit Sun Valley or not?
46 A. Yes, I was.
47
48 Q. Do you know him personally?
49 A. I only know him from professional contacts. I have
50 dealt with him for a number of years on various matters.
51
52 Q. His visit to Sun Valley for the purposes of this case,
53 I think, was in April 1993?
54 A. Yes.
55
56 Q. It could have been 19th or 20th, I am not quite sure. Did
57 he not visit your plant also in February of that year?
58 A. Yes, he did.
59
60 Q. Was that the beginning or the end of the month, do you
