Day 115 - 06 Apr 95 - Page 39
1 Q. So they were just loaded up like the others?
2 A. Yes, the only things that did not get loaded into
3 crates was sort of what you would call dead birds or birds
4 that had been dead for days and in the shed left.
5
6 Q. Sorry, were there always dead birds in the sheds?
7 A. At the time I worked at Sun Valley they had a big
8 problem, it is called Gumboro and it was -- there was no
9 cure for it, or there was led to be believe no cure. It
10 was always dead birds. When you say: "Well, there is lots
11 of birds ill in this shed", they say: "Well, yes, we know,
12 it is a disease called Gumboro" because some of us lads
13 would be concerned to think, well, if birds are falling
14 over and dying in the shed and going to the factory, why
15 are they dying?
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Keep your voice up. Try to speak out across
18 the court, Mr. Bruton. I know it is natural when Ms. Steel
19 is asking you questions to speak back to her, but try to
20 speak out across the court.
21
22 MS. STEEL: How many dead birds were there usually in a shed?
23 A. I have seen up to a number of 500 birds, perhaps, in a
24 shed on one occasion or more than one occasion and as
25 little as 50 dead birds in a shed.
26
27 Q. So what, on average, would the usual number be?
28 A. 150, 200 birds. Birds would be left in the shed with
29 their brothers or sisters eating dead birds.
30
31 Q. Could you tell how long they appeared to have been left
32 there?
33 A. It is hard to say because once they are in the environment/index.html">litter
34 in the sheds, if it was dry, it could have been hours, and
35 if there was really bad with a smell of gone-off birds, you
36 could say they have been there for a day plus because they
37 would be rife and all swollen up.
38
39 Q. Sorry, just going back to the loading part, did it ever
40 happen that birds' heads got trapped in the drawers?
41 A. Yes, on more than one occasion.
42
43 Q. Can you just explain what happens or what happened?
44 A. More so at night time; you would be loading and the
45 sheds would be in semi-darkness and, where you would be
46 rushing and, perhaps, you would put the first two handfuls
47 in the drawer and the last one would just throw his in and
48 close the drawer, the chicken might just be having a look
49 around -- I am just using for instance -- sticks his head
50 through the drawer and the person shutting the drawer never
51 recognises it because the time given, he just wants to shut
52 the drawer and load the next drawer, to carry on with his
53 work.
54
55 Q. Those modules would still be loaded in the normal way on to
56 the lorry?
57 A. They would be loaded in the normal way.
58
59 Q. Did any of the supervisors or company officials ever say
60 anything about the heads getting trapped?
