Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 20

     
     1        to transport in harsh conditions; they are subjected to
     2        treatments in foreign slaughterhouses where there are many
     3        things wrong.  They are very young animals to subject to
     4        those stresses.  Now, they do not all go that way.  That at
     5        the moment is about half a million a year.  The rest will
     6        go into the beef system and they, the males, like the
     7        uncalved females, will be what the trade would call "clean
     8        cattle", "clean beef", "clean cattle".  The animals seem to
     9        loose their cleanliness when they calve.  They would go --
    10        they would be castrated, most of them, at a young age.
    11        Other things might be done -----
    12
    13   Q.   Is that a problem, a health welfare consideration?
    14        A.  Yes, it is painful.  It sets them back.  It is done in
    15        a fairly crude way, sometimes with elastic rings around the
    16        spermatic cord, sometimes with an instrument like pliers
    17        called a "burdizzo", or sometimes -- that is
    18        B-U-R-D-I-Z-Z-O -- or sometimes it is done surgically.  But
    19        it is a cause of all the troubles also, because once you
    20        start doing things like this, there is a danger of
         infection and not only pain but subsequent infection.
    22        These animals will go on possibly for 18 months or so.
    23        They are different systems.  Some animals will be reared as
    24        bull beef.  They will not be castrated.  They will be put
    25        into an intensive barley beef system.
    26
    27   Q.   Those animals that are not castrated will not go for burger
    28        production, is that correct, or McDonald's does not
    29        use -----
    30        A.  No, they would go for other manufacturing purposes.
    31
    32   MR. RAMPTON:  That was the first time for I do not know how long
    33        that I am actually going to object to a leading question.
    34        This witness has to lay the ground for his knowledge of
    35        McDonald's burger production.  That Mr. Morris has not done
    36        and he cannot put words into the witness's mouth.
    37
    38   MR. MORRIS:  I was doing Mr. Rampton a favour.  As far as I
    39        know, McDonald's claim they do not use bulls.
    40
    MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, they do.  They use young bulls on approval
    42        from McKey's; it says in the specification.
    43
    44   MR. MORRIS:  Fair enough.  I was just trying to cut things short
    45        by saying we do not need to bother about those bulls so --
    46        apparently, they do use young bulls.
    47        A.  Bull beef is usually produced on the barley intensive
    48        system.  I cannot say exactly what you are referring to
    49        because I am not sure about what it is, but it is sometimes
    50        on a zero grade system they are kept indoors intensively, 
    51        but it is a minor way of production at the moment. 
    52 
    53   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You said about half a million a year go into
    54        veal production?
    55        A.  Yes.
    56
    57   Q.   Did you mean exported for veal production?
    58        A.  Yes, live.  They go live to be slaughtered abroad.
    59        They are reared -----
    60