Ms Una Heffernan:

I thank the committee for letting us speak today. Some members have probably never been on a mink farm. The mink are housed in houses, which are open on each side. There is a roof, which as Mr. Reynolds said is asbestos. There is a pathway going down the middle. There are lines of cages on each side of the pathway. Most of our houses are 120 m long while some are 100 m long.

The mink are in double tier pens. We could say that there is a ground floor and an upper floor. The mink can move around and run around in the pens. They have a food area and a drinking area. At the very end of a cage, there is a tray which catches all the manure. That is piped out of the farm underground and into holding tanks. All of this is to help members to visualise a mink house.

The most important aspect on a day-to-day basis is the welfare of the animal. Unlike some farming practices, we have welfare checks at least three or four times a day. When the staff arrive first thing in the morning, they make the food. Food is made fresh every day. When the rest of the staff go into the farm, each pen is looked at. This is because we divide the food. We look to see if the food was not eaten the previous night. When the staff divide the food, they look at the pen. At the moment, a pen would hold three animals. The staff first check for water. If a lot of food is left over, that is the first sign of a problem. They would then check the food. The first thing they check is if there is water. The mink are sometimes inclined to put the food into the drinker. Next, the staff check if the three mink are there. If there are only two and the feeder contained enough food for three, that would explain why a lot would be left over.

After that, the staff make a note of any problems, or if a mink is sick. Every house and cage has a number. The staff writes down the number of the house and cage. That is the morning process. They feed the mink at breakfast time. While doing the welfare check, a staff member goes around and immediately puts food into any empty cage. Then we divide the food. After all that, we feed the mink again at about midday. We go to any cages that no longer have food. We may have a problem, as we refer to it. For instance, a mink may have to be taken to sick bay to be looked at, a pen may need to be repaired and so on. Staff members take all of this down in notes as we go along. The problems are then fixed and sorted.

The feeder gives the mink food again in the afternoon. We give a fairly good portion to the mink at that stage. The feeder also observes all of the mink at this time. We feed them three times a day, so those who feed them observe any problems. We also feed them in the evening at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. At that point, we go around and top up the food. If there is only a little food left, we top it up.

All of this is for the welfare of the animals. It is important that they have fresh food and water at all times. That is more or less what happens on a farm. Each season is different. There is a mating season, a weaning season, a whelping season and a pelting season. There are other jobs as well, such as looking after the pups. Like in all farming areas, there are different seasons. However, giving food to the mink and checking their welfare is done every day of every year: even on Christmas Day. Like all farmers, we do not get a break.