Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll:

The Deputy asked about mistakes. The special investigations unit, SIU, would not have made the decision; it would have been made at a higher level. We made the decision because of a lack of options. We had initially asked the farmer to slaughter at a registered plant. He said he could not do it. The reason is not entirely clear to me. Probably, he could not find a plant that would do it, given that they would not want pigs that had carcinogens in them. It also would have been costly for him to pay for it, and I do not think he was in a position to do it. Therefore, I can understand why he approached us as he did and suggested to us that he was fit for it, had the expertise and could do it. On-farm slaughter is normal. During the 2000 swine fever outbreak in the UK, there was much on-farm slaughter of pigs. There is nothing unusual about it.