Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 34

     
     1        to identify, and is dependent on the viewpoint and
              philosophy of the person making the judgement. The
     2        identification of this threshold is made easier, however,
              if the criteria for gait score are applied to another
     3        species".  Then you consider the dairy cow; if that was
              suffering from an obvious gait deficiency like a limp,
     4        which affected its ability to move.  You say that a cow in
              that kind of condition would be comparable to a bird given
     5        a gait score of three.  That is right, is it not?
              A.  That is what it says.
     6
         Q.   And that such a cow would require veterinary attention and
     7        if it could not be cured within a reasonable period would
              probably be destroyed on humanitarian grounds.  That is
     8        right, is it not?
              A.  That is what it says, yes, that is right.
     9
         Q.   Then you go on to say:  "It would be difficult to deny
    10        that this animal had had its welfare severely compromised
              by its condition"?
         A.  Yes.
 
    12   Q.   So it would be fair to say then that making that
              comparison, a chicken with a gait score of three was
    13        having its welfare compromised by its condition?
              A.  Yes, using that analogy.  There is a caveat attached
    14        to that, different causes of lameness between those
              species.  In the case of a dairy cow often the cause of
    15        lameness is in the hoof.  That is often the case; whereas
              in the case of these broilers the location of the cause
    16        may be in the hip, or it maybe in the stifle, for
              instance.  It is less likely to be associated with the
    17        feet.
 
    18        Now, as to the prevalence of pain within each of those
              conditions, I think it is bound to differ.  So, this type
    19        of philosophy or approach could be criticised on that
              ground, so please accept that as a balanced argument.
    20
         Q.   You were involved in this, though, were you not?
         A.  Yes, I did indeed.  I did all the gait scoring.
 
    22   Q.   Did you agree with this at the time it was made?
              A.  Yes, I think as a generalisation that is satisfactory.
    23
         Q.   Right, OK.
    24        A.  But I was just balancing the interpretation.
 
    25   Q.   If we went on to just below that:   "Similarly, a pig with
              a gait score of 2 would require veterinary inspection, 
    26        although not everybody would identify it as a bad welfare 
              case"? 
    27        A.  I agree with that.
 
    28   Q.   "If this approach is applied to poultry, it is evident
              that the point at which a bird's welfare is compromised
    29        unduly lies between gait scores 2 and 3"?
              A.  Yes, this was said as much yesterday; it is within
    30        three that you have the division between welfare
              compromise and no compromise.