Day 288 - 28 Oct 96 - Page 10
1 become frantic as they watch the animal before them in the
2 killing line being prodded, electrocuted and knifed." I
3 will be going through that in more detail tomorrow.
4
5 We say that the evidence of Mr. Lyman and Mr. Long supports
6 that, in particular the evidence of Mr. Lyman, which I have
7 just read out.
8
9 The fact sheet then continues: "A recent British government
10 report criticised inefficient stunning methods which
11 frequently resulted in animals having their throats cut
12 while still fully conscious". We heard in evidence that
13 this was the report of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee in
14 1984, which did makes those criticisms, and I think we
15 asked Dr. Gregory. In fact, I think Mr. Rampton might have
16 asked Dr. Gregory about that, and he said he was aware of
17 that report.
18
19 The report dealt with conditions throughout the industry,
20 in slaughter houses. Obviously, McDonald's suppliers are
21 part of the meat industry, as indeed are McDonald's down
22 the chain, and the general observations that appear in that
23 report would apply to McDonald's suppliers. Indeed,
24 McDonald's say that their animal welfare policy is to abide
25 by the laws of the country in which they operate. It must
26 therefore follow that their standards are the same as the
27 general industry standards. I mean, Mr. Oakley, when we
28 questioned him about the animal welfare policy, said that
29 the animal welfare policy is in fact just a policy to
30 comply with the laws of the various countries in which
31 McDonald's operate. Then he added, "We do not go beyond
32 what the law stipulates."
33
34 The fact sheet then goes on: "McDonald's are responsible
35 for the deaths of countless animals by this supposedly
36 humane method." I have been through some of the figures
37 concerning how many animals are reared and slaughtered for
38 McDonald's products. This sentence is obviously a
39 reference to the previous sentence. 'This supposedly
40 humane method' is talking about the methods outlined in the
41 Farm Animal Welfare Committee Report of 1984, i.e. the
42 industry standards.
43
44 Actually, I think there is a part here -- (Pause) Can we
45 just say that the Plaintiffs used the words in their
46 pleaded meaning, under LB, "The animals (chickens, pigs and
47 cattle) are slaughtered by methods which are grossly
48 inhumane", and it goes on to give examples. If I point out
49 that the words 'grossly inhumane' do not appear in the
50 leaflet.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Forget the 'grossly'. What about the word
53 'inhumane'?
54
55 MS. STEEL: 'Inhumane' does appear in the fact sheet, yes, it
56 says, "McDonald's are responsible for the deaths of
57 countless animals by this supposedly humane method." I
58 mean, all it is basically saying is that other people are
59 claiming that this is humane, and in our view it is not
60 humane. But it does not use the word 'grossly'.
