Day 109 - 28 Mar 95 - Page 06
1 would guess that it is worse in the old fashioned units,
2 but that it happens to some extent throughout.
3
4 Q. I think Dr. Pattison did say they had made improvements at
5 Sun Valley to some extent. Is that something you view as
6 in line with the rest of the industry, any improvements, or
7 would they be -- perhaps you cannot answer that, I am
8 sorry.
9 A. Sorry, do you want me to -----
10
11 Q. I do not I think I asked it very well.
12 A. If you want to ask it again or else go on with it.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, stick to the specific questions.
15 I appreciate that on some occasions they are just pointers
16 to Mrs. Druce, but ask a question.
17
18 MS. STEEL: It has been said -- I do not know whether
19 Dr. Pattison said it -- on occasion from the Plaintiff's
20 witnesses that it would not be in the farmers' own
21 interests to have individual animals or birds dying because
22 it would cost them money. Do you have any comment to make
23 about that in relation to chickens?
24 A. Yes, well, I think chickens are very low value birds
25 and that is one of the problems, they are very low value
26 individually, and it can be economic to reckon on losing a
27 percentage of them, and I believe this is what happens;
28 whereas, if it was cattle, pigs or even turkeys, they are
29 much higher value individually. But, poultry do suffer
30 from that aspect of being low value animals.
31
32 Q. I believe you have seen the "Here's the catch" video; is
33 that correct?
34 A. Yes.
35
36 Q. Dr. Pattison said the catchers at Sun Valley would catch
37 like that with the exception that the company states to
38 employees that they are not supposed to flap bags and kick
39 birds. What would be your view of the catching procedure?
40 A. Generally or -----
41
42 Q. Bearing in mind the method used in the video with those
43 qualifications?
44 A. That is the method -----
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What we have to distinguish between is the
47 bare bones of the method and the way the men actually carry
48 it out. Dr. Pattison was not distinguishing the essential
49 of the method, it was the way the men worked.
50 A. Yes, well, judging from the crushed heads which were in
51 Dr. Gregory's research from Bristol -- I think it was plant
52 F that turned out to be Sun Valley -- that crushed heads
53 were worse from there, so I can only assume their catching
54 methods are not better than anybody else's.
55
56 The modules are only good if they are used far more slowly
57 than I would think -- I mean, crates also are bad from the
58 welfare point of view, but modules have this very great
59 danger of catching limbs and heads as they are shaken and
60 then finally shut.
