Day 110 - 29 Mar 95 - Page 02
1 Wednesday, 19th March 1995.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will wait until Ms. Steel comes in.
4
5 MS. LOUISE WALLICE, affirmed.
6 Examined by the Defendants
7
8 MS. STEEL: If you can keep your voice up? In December 1988 you
9 attended Sun Valley's processing plant in Hereford; is that
10 right?
11 A. Yes.
12
13 Q. Why did you go to the processing plant?
14 A. I went there with other people to carry out an
15 inspection of the conditions which chickens are transported
16 into Sun Valley's processing plant.
17
18 Q. Right. What did you see when you got to the processing
19 plant?
20 A. Well, shortly after we arrived at the processing plant
21 a lorry ----
22
23 MR. RAMPTON: I am afraid I am having the most awful difficulty
24 hearing.
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. It is not an easy court, so can you try
27 to keep your voice up? Speak out loud and clear.
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29 MR. MORRIS: The microphone does not amplify your voice.
30
31 THE WITNESS: Shortly after we arrived outside Sun Valley's
32 processing plant, a lorry containing a cargo of chickens
33 turned up at the gate and stopped outside the gate. We
34 went up to the vehicle to inspect the conditions that the
35 chickens were being transported in.
36
37 MS. STEEL: What conditions did you see?
38 A. Well, the chickens were packed very tightly into
39 crates, of a plastic mesh, which were piled one on top of
40 the other in tiers. The chickens were packed very tightly
41 in these crates. I would say there were at least 10 in
42 each crate, but I was not able to see very far into the
43 vehicle itself, so it is hard to say. Because they were
44 piled on top of each other in this way, the chickens'
45 droppings had fallen down and the chickens on the bottom
46 were covered in droppings.
47
48 Q. What condition were the individual birds in?
49 A. Obviously, I could only see the birds nearest to the
50 side of the lorry. The ones that I saw were in a pretty
51 miserable condition. A lot of the birds had feathers
52 missing, had extensive bald patches on their bodies; some
53 of the birds had scabs and sores. They generally looked
54 very listless and apathetic. I actually poked my fingers
55 through and touched some of the birds, but they did not
56 respond at all, and just sat there looking pretty
57 pathetic. Some of the birds' eyes were shut and looked to
58 me like they were about to die, and some of them had their
59 mouths open and were panting and, obviously, in a state of
60 great distress.
