Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 04
1 A. Yes, part of the declaration when we are admitted to
2 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is that we have to
3 make, as part of our oath, we have to swear that we will
4 take animal welfare into part of our day-to-day work, so it
5 is a major consideration.
6
7 Q. You became a member in 1968, I do not know, about 25 years
8 ago, something like that. Do you take that obligation
9 seriously that you swore to when you became a member?
10 A. I do take it very seriously and I regard it as a great
11 privilege to be a member of the Royal College.
12
13 Q. Do you find that your work at Sun Valley in any sense
14 conflicts with that undertaking that you made when you
15 became a member of the Royal Society -- college, I mean?
16 A. It does not at all. I feel that it is very important
17 that industry is correctly advised in matters of animal
18 welfare, animal husbandry and production, and I think it is
19 very important that the veterinary profession be involved
20 in all types of farming enterprises.
21
22 Q. What was it motivated you to join Sun Valley? Was it just
23 that there was a nice job at a good wage?
24 A. The job that became vacant was to be responsible for
25 their veterinary services for the laboratories. It was a
26 company with a wide range of interests which included
27 chickens and turkeys, production and breeding, hatcheries
28 and factories. So, it gave a very broad opportunity to
29 take an active interest in all these different activities.
30
31 Q. I think you joined them in 1982, am I right?
32 A. That is correct.
33
34 Q. After qualifying in 1968 as a vet, what sort of things did
35 you do? Just do not bother with precise years but give us,
36 as it were, a chronological brief account of what you did
37 between 1968 and 1982?
38 A. Well, I went into general practice to start with and
39 I was in general practice for a short time. I have always
40 had a great interest to do laboratory and research work.
41 So, after a couple of years I joined the Ministry of
42 Agriculture at their central veterinary laboratory and
43 there I started to work on poultry diseases.
44
45 Q. Have you specialised in poultry ever since?
46 A. I have specialised ever since.
47
48 Q. How long did you work on research into poultry diseases?
49 A. For nearly five years.
50
51 Q. After that what did you do?
52 A. After that I went into industry and joined the Ross
53 Poultry Breeding Company up in Scotland involved in the
54 health and welfare of breeding stock.
55
56 Q. That takes us up to your joining Sun Valley in 1982?
57 A. That is correct.
58
59 Q. When you joined Sun Valley had you had a predecessor as, as
60 it were, a veterinary officer of the company?
