Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 29
1 Q. Can you explain what the problem is with these?
2 A. Well, it is usually done with an electrical implement,
3 in effect, what doctors and vets have called cauterizing,
4 I suppose, like it is just burning it out. Generally
5 nowadays an anaesthetic is given, but it does cause
6 problems after the anaesthetic has worn off because the
7 animal still feels pain.
8
9 Q. How long might an animal feel pain from disbudding?
10 A. It is terribly -----
11
12 Q. We are talking about two hours or two days?
13 A. Yes, I think it would be perhaps a day. I must say
14 that when you are talking about animals and whether they
15 feel pain, I have to talk in biochemical terms mainly and
16 also by the appearance of the animal. If it is dull,
17 I would say to you that if you talked about a dog and you
18 did something, it is difficult to know exactly how long it
19 feels pain.
20
21 If I could say, from my scientific point of view, there are
22 two types of this stress. One is acute. If you put your
23 finger on a hot fire, you put it away and you might say
24 something, you would then have acute pain. Then you would
25 have the chronic pain. Sometimes, the acute pain would
26 pass off, perhaps if you just stuck a pin in your finger
27 and that would be it.
28
29 I think that with animals, particularly with cattle, they
30 look dull or they look "tucked in", as farmers say. You
31 look in their eyes. If they are healthy, they will have a
32 bright coat, they will not be filthy. This is one of the
33 problems, a welfare problem, because if the cattle going to
34 slaughter or going to market are filthy, you know that they
35 have not been properly treated. They should be clean, they
36 should be bright and there is also a distinct hygiene
37 matter in it because they carry filth finally into the
38 slaughterhouse or between one another.
39
40 This is a very relevant topic because this is the first
41 Monday, the first day, working day really, of the new
42 National Meat Hygiene Service.
43
44 Q. That is today?
45 A. Well, it actually started, I think, on the 1st, but
46 this is the first working day, if you like. It is a very
47 controversial matter but, although it is called a hygiene
48 service, it does comprehend welfare as well.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That was disbudding. Any other procedures?
51 A. Dehorning is sometimes done.
52
53 MR. MORRIS: Let us get the prevalence of disbudding, how
54 prevalent is that?
55 A. Yes, that is quite frequent. I would just say that it
56 is quite frequent. It is obviously done with animals that
57 are likely to be polled, that is, to have horns.
58
59 Q. When you say "quite frequent", are we talking about 10
60 per cent of the cattle get horns?
