Day 109 - 28 Mar 95 - Page 25
1 wide compass, the different possibilities, it is enormous.
2
3 It is possible to have 20,000 birds in one unit. There
4 were even (and may still be) farmers who switched off the
5 light at the desired time without dimming it, causing
6 enormous panic and thousands of birds to flap about looking
7 for their perching, roosting place with resultant broken
8 bones, so it really is a completely meaningless criticism
9 unless you -----
10
11 Q. I think we have gone a bit off the mark. I think from time
12 to time comparisons were drawn with what I will describe as
13 the traditional farmyard hen, and it was suggested that, in
14 fact, the traditional farmyard hen was not so well off
15 after all because of predators and things of that kind.
16 What Ms. Steel is asking for is your view on that part of
17 that case?
18 A. I think that, obviously, predators have always been
19 with us, but the bigger, modern free range farms which are
20 springing up as a result of consumer demand are finding it
21 perfectly satisfactory to use electric wiring. There is
22 not a big problem with foxes. The pecking order has always
23 been with us, but cannibalism is relatively rare, and in a
24 well managed farm it is not a big problem. It is not --
25 sometimes it is no problem whatsoever. So, that it the
26 management and husbandry which counts, but also I think the
27 flock size and various factors which I do not think -- we
28 probably do not want to go into in any detail, but the fact
29 is that free range has a very wide meaning nowadays, and is
30 based on a marketing standard which is not a welfare
31 standard, so that there is scope for abuse under free
32 range.
33
34 MS. STEEL: Right. Is the welfare of chickens in well managed
35 farmyards better than that in battery systems or broiler
36 systems?
37 A. Yes, infinitely better.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: What is your view on the broiler industry
40 terminating chickens' lives at the age of seven weeks?
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That does not help me, quite frankly.
43
44 MR. MORRIS: It is a welfare consideration.
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: It is a matter of ordinary morals of human
47 experience.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Insofar as it is relevant in due course, it
50 is a matter upon which I have to form my own view. Though
51 Mrs. Druce may help me on a number of matters where she has
52 particular experience and expertise, I do not think she can
53 help me any more than Dr. Gregory could help me or Dr.
54 Pattison could.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: McDonald's, some of the Plaintiff's witnesses, have
57 said that they agree with the Five Freedoms as defined by
58 the Farm Animal Welfare Council, October 1992. If I just
59 read out each one, it is actually in the Welfare Standards
60 for Pigs, I think, document, RSPCA. I cannot remember
