Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 11
1 that they are slaughtered. If it is a couple of hours
2 which is common, or if it is a few hours, that would not be
3 a violation of the Humane Slaughter Act of that animal
4 because the animal is not subject to unreasonable stress.
5 But it does not specify that it has to have water.
6
7 Q. So it does not say anything about water itself?
8 A. It only says -----
9
10 Q. It says something about stress?
11 A. Most of it is, yes.
12
13 Q. And it says something about thirst?
14 A. Yes, it does, but it does not, if I can clarify, it
15 does not say that the animal has to have water 24 hours a
16 day within a -----
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am going to withdraw from the questioning
19 now or, at least, for the time being. What I understand
20 you to say is that either there is some general provision
21 in the Humane Slaughter Act?
22 A. That is correct.
23
24 Q. There are more specific provisions in the code of
25 practice. They would provide against an animal being
26 subjected to stress or thirst but they would not
27 specifically say where, when and how often an animal should
28 be provided with water or clean water?
29 A. That is a very -----
30
31 Q. Is that basically it?
32 A. That is a very clear interpretation of the Humane
33 Slaughter Act, yes, sir.
34
35 MS. STEEL: Which parts are enforceable by law?
36 A. When it becomes very specific, when it becomes very
37 obvious. For instance, I mentioned how specific it could
38 be with stunning of electrical chickens. If you, for
39 example, leave an animal in a pen and you do not feed that
40 animal, if you do not provide water, that animal will show,
41 it could be a day or two, some signs of stress, then that
42 is when it becomes enforceable.
43
44 Q. So they have to be visibly affected?
45 A. You have to provide some proof that the animal has
46 suffered significantly. That would be outside of their
47 normal conditions, unusual conditions. In the US, if you
48 look, it is not very common, but you would see on reports
49 in the US of animals that have been mistreated, including
50 pets, where people would leave them in a car, a dog in a
51 car, and it is hot and the temperature becomes very, very
52 hot. There are cases that you can see the people would
53 leave their pets and go on vacation and they do not have
54 access to water or they run out of food, that is when the
55 law takes into effect.
56
57 Q. When they are collapsing with heat exhaustion or something
58 like that?
59 A. When you have provided -- when you are -- what they are
60 looking for is negligence. If you can prove that there has
