Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 24
1 should be slaughtered at the nearest slaughterhouse to the
2 farm from which they emanate. This is a recommendation
3 that is not observed generally.
4
5 Q. You said that there are concerns about unloading and
6 loading. Would this be particularly relevant in terms of
7 frequent visits to markets?
8 A. Yes.
9
10 Q. Is that what your concern is?
11 A. Yes. It is the conditions in which they are kept; they
12 can be crowded in pens, the weather can be inclement, the
13 surfaces can be mucky and slippery. Particularly with cows
14 and heavy animals, if they slip then they have problems
15 because they are ungainly.
16
17 Q. But just to go back to the loading and unloading ---
18 A. Yes.
19
20 Q. -- what are your concerns about that?
21 A. The beating of animals, the use of sticks, the use of
22 electric goads, I have seen sticks used appallingly. In
23 fact, in the FAWC video that you mentioned, or I mentioned,
24 I forget which, there is a scene in that in which animals
25 are struck across the face. I have seen sticks pushed up
26 the animal's back sides, goads -----
27
28 Q. This is in markets, is it, you are talking about?
29 A. Yes, and in lairages, but in markets I am telling you
30 about now. I have seen goads, instead of pushed against
31 the animal's backsides, pushed to more sensitive parts like
32 around the udder and the vulva. After all, in these
33 conditions it is not very easy. There are sort of not many
34 niceties in this. It is not a delicate and
35 gentil -- pardon me, I must not use that word -- it is not
36 a delicate matter.
37
38 The problem you have with loading is that animals are
39 loathe to go into a reverberating container when there is a
40 dark surface ahead. It is a tunnel to them and they jib.
41 You will get, particularly a cow at the top who will stick
42 her feet in. She will stay put. Then the drovers cannot
43 get the others up. So, what happens, they give a shove and
44 a prod to the animals at the back which cannot do very much
45 because they cannot get at the one which is jibbing. Then
46 there is a great deal of noise and blinding and F'ing, and
47 that is very bad husbandry, very bad stockmanship.
48
49 Q. When you say "bad husbandry", "bad stockmanship", what kind
50 of prevalence does that kind of treatment of animals, what
51 kind of prevalence is there for that in markets then?
52 A. It is more or less a day-to-day occurrence. Somewhere
53 you will see distressed animals being pushed
54 unnecessarily. It should not with good stockmanship be
55 necessary to use those forms of force at all. You should
56 be able to run the place without using sticks and very
57 rarely with goads, but the trouble is that many of these
58 markets are inadequate for the job. They are trying to put
59 too much through, they are trying to do too much business
60 at the expense of the animals' welfare. I actually -----
