Day 112 - 31 Mar 95 - Page 06

     
     1        Lordship's leave, call rebuttal evidence.
     2
     3        My Lord, that means that I will probably not be more than
     4        about an hour this morning, I hope.
     5
     6                 Cross-examined by MR. RAMPTON, Q.C.
     7
     8   Q.   Ms. Hovi, without looking at the sheets (though we can if
     9        you would like to do so) am I right that you worked at
    10        Jarretts for a total of about 14-and-a-half days?
    11        A.  Yes, for three weeks, yes.
    12
    13   Q.   The weeks were not continuous, were they?
    14        A.  No, there was a week in between where I went on a
    15        course in Langford near Bristol.
    16
    17   Q.   Can I give you the dates and see if you agree with them --
    18        these dates are inclusive -- the 5th to 9th April 1994?
    19        A.  Pardon me?
    20
    Q.   The 5th to 9th April?
    22        A.  Yes, that is right.
    23
    24   Q.   Then came the weekend?
    25        A.  That is right.
    26
    27   Q.   Then from the 11th to 15th, inclusive, in other words, two
    28        continuous weeks broken by a weekend?
    29        A.  That is right.
    30
    31   Q.   Then a week off?
    32        A.  That was a week off, yes.  I visited the abattoir twice
    33        during that time.  My employer was in charge then, but
    34        I still were concerns about some issues -- I visited the
    35        abattoir twice during that week.
    36
    37   Q.   Then, finally, from 25th through to half a day on 29th?
    38        A.  Yes, because the slaughtering finished early that day.
    39        There was one Saturday included in this.  I do not know
    40        whether that shows on those charts.
    41
    42   Q.   Do you think a total of 14-and-a-half days or, if one looks
    43        at the time sheet, total 124 hours, is sufficient to give
    44        you the basis for indulging in the kind of wholesale
    45        condemnation of this operation that we find in your written
    46        statement?
    47        A.  Yes, I do think so.
    48
    49   Q.   Do you?
    50        A.  As a professional person, I am trained to make a 
    51        judgment, but from the first day onwards from taking over 
    52        the official veterinary surgeon's duties in the plant, I am 
    53        responsible for everything that happens there.  So, I have
    54        to be able also to judge matters relating to hygiene and
    55        risks to public health from the first day onwards.  That is
    56        part of our professional duties.
    57
    58   Q.   Do you know the English expression "picking nits"?
    59        A.  Yes, I do.
    60