Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 17
1 Parliament, embodies the latest scientific advice and the
best current husbandry practices and takes account of five
2 basic needs: freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition;
appropriate comfort and shelter; the prevention, or rapid
3 diagnosis and treatment of, injury, disease or
infestation; freedom from fear, and freedom to display
4 most normal patterns of behaviour". Do you feel broiler
houses provide these five basic needs?
5 A. I think some do and some do not.
6 Q. What about the ones at Sun Valley? Do you feel they
provide those?
7 A. I think they were at a high standard relative to the
industry, as I said before. I think they are just
8 managing to achieve in a general sense these goals, yes.
There is not -- the thing that could be most criticised,
9 if one is bearing with the animal welfare requirements, is
perhaps space allowance for the birds and variety in the
10 environment.
11 Q. Would you say that they do not have, the broiler chickens
at Sun Valley poultry do not have freedom to display
12 normal behaviour?
A. I think they could express more normal behaviour
13 patterns if they were given additional facilities, and you
do see that in some firms which have adopted less
14 intensive systems. One, for example, would be the Premium
chicken which came from Northern Ireland: They are
15 stocked at a lower density. They provided roughage
materials for the birds to eat besides their normal daily
16 ration; they will have access to direct sunlight, if they
so required, so they could stretch out in the sun. That
17 often provokes dust bathing behaviour through open sides
in the shed, which could be open and closed according to
18 the weather. There are additional facilities which can be
provided to enhance the behaviour repertoire of birds.
19
Q. The chickens at Sun Valley, for example, do not have any
20 access to sunlight, do they?
A. That is correct.
21
Q. They do not have very much room to move around either, do
22 they?
A. That is a bit of a general statement, is it not? It
23 is difficult to comment. They were, I think it was, 34.2
kilograms per meters square. Yes, they were just around
24 the code level. In the Farm Animal Welfare Council's
view, this was an adequate level.
25
Q. 34?
26 A. Kilograms per metre squared at most.
27 Q. I think the Sun Valley poultry are crammed in a bit
tighter than that?
28 A. It is approximately on that. It is very very close.
29 Q. 36.7 kilograms per metre squared.
A. Thank you. Prior to that level, there is a lot of
30 space; prior to the ultimate killing day, when they have
reached that stocking density, there is a lot of space;
