Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 22

     
     1        they have been kept at a maintenance level and they have
     2        not been fattened.  That was the old-fashioned word, but
     3        fat became unpopular so they now use the word "finished".
     4        So, they may be traded.  After all, they are stock.  They
     5        are livestock which can be traded through the market and
     6        auction.
     7
     8   Q.   How widespread is that?  In an average male beef steer --
     9        is it a steer?  I get confused.
    10        A.  A steer is a bullock or a stirk which is a castrated
    11        male.  A stirk is S-T-I-R-K.
    12
    13   Q.   Can I call them "steers", is that OK?
    14        A.  Yes.
    15
    16   Q.   For the average male steer, what would be the kind of times
    17        it would go through market?
    18        A.  I am sorry, I could not tell you that.  There are so
    19        many different ways of doing this.  I could not give you a
    20        figure.  It is frequent.  You do have what are called store
         cattle sales at markets.  You also have dairy cattle sales
    22        of milk animals in milk, but I could not give you a figure,
    23        I regret to say.  There are obviously enough to support a
    24        complete market for the purpose.  But, ultimately, when the
    25        animal is finished, that is, when it has been, when it is
    26        ready -- this is a bull calf, well, a male calf -- it will
    27        generally, not always now, but will go to market to be
    28        auctioned.
    29
    30   Q.   That would be for slaughter, will it?
    31        A.  It will be auctioned probably for slaughter thereafter.
    32
    33   Q.   What age does that happen?
    34        A.  That could be 18 month is a typical time, typical age,
    35        it might be 24 months in the dairy beef system that I am
    36        talking about, intensive beef dairy, dairy beef.
    37
    38        So, you are asking me about marketing, perhaps I could just
    39        say, we have lots of complaints as welfarists about
    40        markets.  The Farm Animal Welfare Council has put forward a
         report, made about 100 recommendations.  Really, animal
    42        welfarists are saying that the marketing, the auctioning of
    43        animals should be abolished, and instead of the animals
    44        going to the buyers and the market, the buyers should
    45        somehow have access to the animal which can now be done by
    46        an electronic system.
    47
    48   Q.   Do you agree with that?  Do you think that marketing should
    49        abolished?
    50        A.  It is less stressful and it is an amelioration, yes. 
    51 
    52   Q.   If it is abolished, you mean? 
    53        A.  It is abolished, yes.  The point about, I must say,
    54        about electronic auctioning is that buyers from further
    55        away can get into the system.  Therefore, the animals,
    56        after they have been sold, may travel greater distances.
    57        As animal welfarists, we are concerned, now that Europe is
    58        open, some of these animals may go very long distances to
    59        slaughterhouses in countries where we are not satisfied at
    60        all with the conditions.  They are worse than they are in