Day 106 - 23 Mar 95 - Page 19

     
     1        A.  No, my Lord.  In traditional agriculture, you go to --
     2        and especially the translation of traditional agriculture
     3        into, say, organic agriculture -- you go to enormous
     4        lengths to actually avoid using any drugs.
     5
     6   Q.   I suppose if you only had 12 chickens, you would kill them
     7        as they got diseased and start again?
     8        A.  There is that, although what you do, and I know a
     9        number of my close friends who are in this sort of
    10        business, who would actually allow the animals, having
    11        become ill, would allow them to recover without treatment
    12        on the basis that it builds up an immunity within the
    13        flocks/herd.
    14
    15   MR. MORRIS:  Is there any concern about the regular use of
    16        antibiotics to treat, say, for example, salmonella in
    17        chickens or whatever to try to keep the incidences of
    18        salmonella down?
    19        A.  I have been involved -----
    20
    Q.   In terms of human health, is there any ----
    22        A.  Well, it is a difficult question to answer, that.  You
    23        see -----
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Have we any evidence of that in relation to
    26        this case?  I am not passing judgment on farming practices
    27        as a whole here; I am concerned with what goes into
    28        McDonald's restaurants, am I not?
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  I am just talking about the ability of human
    31        resistance to salmonella.
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Direct it at that then.
    34
    35   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    36
    37   THE WITNESS:  I am sorry, could you rephrase?
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not think we have had it, you see, in
    40        relation to salmonella in this case.  We have had evidence,
         just for your edification, of antibiotics into the feed of
    42        chicks at a very early stage to try to avoid diseases which
    43        might, for instance, cause leg problems.
    44
    45        We have had some general evidence of antibiotics being fed
    46        to animals of one species or another to cope with
    47        particular infection or disease which may have entered the
    48        flock or herd.  I have heard about a lay period between
    49        administration of the antibiotic and slaughter and human
    50        consumption. 
    51 
    52        I do not think, Mr. Morris, I have heard anything at all 
    53        about administration of antibiotics to any bird which ends
    54        up in McDonald's in order to try to remove salmonella, have
    55        I?
    56
    57   MR. MORRIS:  It is probably because I expressed the question
    58        completely wrong.
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, try again.