Day 108 - 27 Mar 95 - Page 29
1 not less than once every 24 hours to see that it is in a
2 state of well-being, and the implication must be the
3 individual bird, because the Codes stress very strongly the
4 welfare of the individual bird. I consider that, you know
5 a shed with 30, 40, 50,000 birds, this is an
6 impossibility. This has been reinforced in my mind by the
7 number of times we have found parts of chickens in the
8 environment/index.html">litter which has been turned out of broiler sheds. Very
9 often, they have clearly died at different stages. You can
10 tell, obviously, by the size of the beak and the feet and
11 so on that they were of differing ages and, therefore, have
12 decomposed slowly in the environment/index.html">litter.
13
14 Q. There were some photographs that Mrs. Druce handed to me,
15 if Mr. Rampton wants to see them first?
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. (Handed) Are you going to refer to the
18 regulations again within the next few minutes or at all?
19
20 MS. STEEL: I do not think so.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will got some copies done.
23
24 MS. STEEL (To the witness): Were those photographs all taken at
25 the same place?
26 A. No, some of them were taken at a very, very large
27 complex of new, well, new in the last five years, broiler
28 sheds in Humberside and these piles of environment/index.html">litter were
29 massive. I mean, they were mountainous and there were many
30 dead birds on the outside. From that, one could only
31 conclude there were even more inside.
32
33 One of these -- I have several at home -- that was taken
34 near my home, the next village, and there were actually
35 whole birds and parts of birds, and it had just been
36 scattered on the pasture from a tractor with no concern,
37 you know, no seeming feeling of guilt, shall we say. They
38 were just lying on the fields and I have seen similar
39 things frequently.
40
41 Q. That was from disposing of the environment/index.html">litter, is it?
42 A. Yes, when the sheds are emptied, they take them out by
43 the tractor full, the environment/index.html">litter, and either spread it direct
44 on to the land or pile it up to be spread later.
45
46 Q. To your knowledge, is that something that occurs across the
47 industry both in small units and large units?
48 A. Yes, I have heard of it many, many times and seen it
49 frequently.
50
51 Q. I think there was a reference as well. From the bundles
52 that are behind you on the shelves, the blue ones at the
53 top, if you could get the supplementary list bundle 2,
54 please? If you could turn to No. 28?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 Q. This is the veterinary record of May 12th, 1990, "Suspected
58 Botulism in cattle associated with Poultry Litter". You
59 have given me a marked copy, but I do not know whether you
60 remember which particular part in it?
