Day 078 - 26 Jan 95 - Page 35

     
     1
     2   Q.   What evidence did you see when you were there on the
     3        sources of Barretos beef supplies, the Vesty beef supplies?
     4        A.  Well, I mean, it is a long time ago, 1983.  I remember
     5        seeing road trains coming in; I remember driving around
     6        looking at estansiers; I remember -- I cannot actually
     7        remember looking at the delivery documents if that is the
     8        question you are asking me.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Were the road trains carrying live cattle?
    11        A.  Yes, sir.
    12
    13   MR. MORRIS:  Did cattle, from your memory, always arrive live
    14        from that plant or did they arrive sometimes -----
    15        A.  They arrive live.
    16
    17   Q.   It was a slaughterhouse?
    18        A.  Yes, it was a slaughterhouse, boning room, cannery.
    19
    20   Q.   It was not a process plant though?
         A.  Well, a cannery is a process plant.
    22
    23   Q.   It is a process plant.  So you drove, you said yesterday,
    24        it must have been about 150 miles or 200 miles in one day
    25        to check on some of the suppliers?
    26        A.  Yes.  I mean, the question I answered yesterday, how
    27        far did I go, I honestly cannot remember but I know that
    28        being in a big American type car and being in the car all
    29        day, we must have done 150, 200 miles.
    30
    31   Q.   Lord Vesty said that his beef was supplied within something
    32        like 1,000 kilometre radius of Barretos?
    33        A.  Yes.
    34
    35   Q.   It is a silly question but, obviously, you could not cover
    36        that whole area probably in a couple of weeks?
    37        A.  No.
    38
    39   Q.   You did not see, what did you say it was, the delivery
    40        notes on sources that you remember -- you just said it just
         now?
    42        A.  No, I cannot recollect seeing it, no.
    43
    44   Q.   So, what actual evidence was there which could satisfy you
    45        that none of the supplies came from ex-rainforest land?
    46        A.  I have explained that already.  The rainforest north of
    47        the Mato Grosso and Minas(?) is about 2,000, 2,300
    48        kilometres north.  You cannot carry cattle that far; it is
    49        uneconomical and not sensible.  I had enough people there
    50        explaining to me where all the ranches were. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Do live cattle sometimes get shipped abroad from country to 
    53        country, in your experience?
    54        A.  In Brazil?
    55
    56   Q.   No, I am talking about in general.
    57        A.  Live cattle?
    58
    59   Q.   Yes.
    60        A.  Yes, live cattle get shipped.