Day 113 - 03 Apr 95 - Page 34
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2 MR. MORRIS: Are there any of these treatments -----
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4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I want to ask you something else: Mr. Morris
5 used the word "routine".
6 A. Yes, in connection -- I am sorry?
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8 Q. I have at the moment a difficulty with anything which is
9 used as a therapeutic purpose for a disease which the
10 animal is suffering from being routine. I can understand
11 that antibiotics might be given routinely for prophylactic
12 effect but ------
13 A. Yes, could I attempt to exemplify it? I think the best
14 example is dry cow therapy. The cow may not actually have
15 manifest signs of mastitis but when she has dried off,
16 before she is coming up to calving, then very often farmers
17 use antibiotics to clear the danger of her getting
18 mastitis. She may have subclinical mastitis.
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20 Q. But that is prophylactic -----
21 A. Prophylactic, widespread use.
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23 MR. MORRIS: I do not know what prophylactic means.
24 A. Preventative.
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26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: A contraception is a prophylactic. It is
27 with a view to avoiding the possibility of some undesired
28 effect.
29 A. Yes.
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31 Q. That is the sense in which I meaning to use it ---
32 A. Yes.
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34 Q. -- whether it is the right definition or not.
35 A. Yes, if I could exemplify that? At the moment, it is
36 about 25 per cent of British herds will be unable to meet
37 the European recommendations for milk. You can do a
38 bacterial count and a cell count and 25 per cent of British
39 herds are not getting the standard that the EU was hoping
40 to introduce, I think, the year after next.
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42 MR. MORRIS: I am sorry, that is regarding what?
43 A. That is regarding -- that is an indication of mastitis
44 and, in order to try to reduce that, although the cows may
45 not actually manifest signs of mastitis, one can do an
46 analysis and show that they have actually got it. So, you
47 use these drugs to try to bring that down as a
48 preventative, so you treat the whole lot. So, that really
49 is trying to answer your question as to whether they are
50 used on a wide scale rather than just applied to the
51 animals that are suffering.
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53 Q. What would be in the milk that would be above the EU -----
54 A. It is bacterial matter -- I mean, mastitis causes pus,
55 like any other infection, so pus in the inside of the
56 udder. So that milk in a way is a dilute solution of
57 pasteurized pus, if the animal has got mastitis. If it is
58 very serious, then the milk has clots in it. That is an
59 infection that has to be countered.
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