Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 07
1 which takes care of their welfare and well-being, and
2 anybody who behaves like that is behaving contrary to the
3 company's instructions.
4
5 Q. Would you expect that sort of thing might be going on at
6 Sun Valley behind your back and you did not know about it?
7 A. There is always the possibility. The catching teams
8 work at times when they, essentially, have to work under
9 their own discipline, under the discipline of a foreman,
10 and the way in which they behave is entirely down to those
11 individuals.
12
13 Q. Do those sorts of procedures, that way of handling the
14 birds, give you anxiety?
15 A. The actual catching process where birds are caught in
16 each hand and loaded into the drawers can be done in a way
17 which is considerate of the birds themselves. They do not
18 have to be thrown, they do not have to have their heads
19 trapped, and it can be done in a sensible way.
20
21 Q. Have you ever seen catching teams at Sun Valley behaving in
22 that kind of way?
23 A. I have not.
24
25 Q. Would you expect that kind of behaviour to be reported to
26 you if it was going on?
27 A. The behaviour of the individual members would not
28 necessarily be reported to me. There are area supervisors
29 who cover groups of catching teams and the normal procedure
30 would be that it would be reported to them and they would
31 take it back to their Head Office. So I would not
32 necessarily hear about it myself.
33
34 Q. If an area supervisor came to know that that sort of
35 behaviour was going on on a regular basis, or perhaps even
36 on a single occasion, what would you expect the area
37 supervisor to do about it?
38 A. The clear instruction is that any individuals who are
39 not taking birds' welfare into consideration must be
40 brought back to Head Office for disciplinary measures which
41 may ultimately mean that they will be sacked. There are
42 several examples where that has happened in the past.
43
44 Q. Moving on from that film, were you provided with a note of
45 what it is suggested a Mr. John Bruton might say if he came
46 to give evidence in this court, a hand-written note?
47 A. The handwritten statement I have read.
48
49 Q. Have you got it with you?
50 A. I have.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Rampton said what he said, described it
53 as "a note" rather than a statement, because what Ms. Steel
54 did, by agreement with everyone, rather than have a
55 statement from Mr. Bruton which might have taken a longer
56 time, she wrote down what she thought he might deal with if
57 he were called to give evidence and that is hence the form
58 you see it in.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: We will assume, therefore, Dr. Pattison for the