Day 077 - 25 Jan 95 - Page 18
1 specification or audit form for animal welfare. One of the
2 things we notice when we look at it is it says they have to
3 have clean water they when they arrive in the layerage?
4 A. Yes.
5
6 Q. Would the vet look at that sort of thing to see if it was
7 watered?
8 A. Yes, yes, he would.
9
10 Q. What is his postmortem function?
11 A. Postmortem is disease, checking the work of the
12 environmental health officers. I think it should be made
13 very clear that the whole system is just changing now to
14 the new national organisation which has been set up
15 headquartered in York but, as we speak today, he has to
16 check all the animals to make sure they are fit for human
17 consumption.
18
19 Q. Does he issue any kind of certificate to that effect?
20 A. Oh, yes. When meat moves from an EEC abattoir, it must
21 be accompanied by a health certificate signed by a
22 veterinary officer, or now he can sign the commercial
23 document. It is called the "commercial document". It has
24 just been done to try to cut down the amount of paper that
25 is travelling with beef and with cattle.
26
27 Q. Tell us again, in general terms, please, if you will, what
28 about the men from the Ministry; what is their function?
29 How often do they come?
30 A. To the abattoir?
31
32 Q. Yes, to the abattoir?
33 A. An abattoir has to have two inspections a year. They
34 are marked accordingly and there is a minimum mark which
35 they must obtain to keep their EEC licence.
36
37 Q. The EC licence, presumably, has do with food safety,
38 amongst other things, hygiene?
39 A. Yes.
40
41 Q. Does it have any aspect which has to do with animal
42 welfare? Are the MAFF men interested in animal welfare or
43 not?
44 A. Yes, as I have said to you, the veterinary officer is
45 responsible for the antemortem and the antemortem does
46 include the animal welfare. Let me give you an example.
47 The regulations now even control the cleanliness of the
48 truck. The EEC law now says that all abattoirs must have a
49 truck washing point. Before it leaves the truck is washed.
50
51 Q. Take an example, suppose it came to the attention of MAFF
52 that a particular abattoir was using an inefficient method
53 of stunning before sticking; what would be the effect on
54 that abattoir's licence, if any?
55 A. It would be taken away.
56
57 Q. It would, would it?
58 A. Oh, yes, and once it is taken away it is extremely
59 difficult to get it repossessed.
60
