28 Livestock transport under
scrutiny by activists CFIA has stepped up monitoring
by PETER MITHAM KAMLOOPS – The
prospect of increasing livestock inspections by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency hit home for one trucker this past summer when a Kamloops animal rights group went public with concerns about the comfort level of the swine he was carrying. Pigs in a video shot by
Kira Blaise, founder of Kamloops Animal Rights Movement and Advocacy (KARMA), allegedly lacked room to stand or lie down comfortably in the truck. “Many pigs were panting,
trembling, foaming at the mouth, and exhibiting lethargy – symptoms the industry’s own codes of practice say indicate pigs are in distress,” she claimed. Temperatures on the day
Blaise saw the pigs approached 30° Celsius. The animals came to her attention on the highway, and when the trucker stopped at a weigh station, Blaise asked – and won – permission to look at them. The trucker was heading to a slaughterhouse in Langley. Pigs can be trucked for up to 36 hours without a break for rest, food or water. There is no set definition of
crowding, a point of concern for animal rights activists. However, staff with the
CFIA have stepped up monitoring at stockyards to ensure livestock are being treated right, Duncan Barnett, chair of the BC Cattlemen’s Association livestock industry protection committee, said at the association’s annual general meeting in June.
No cause for concern
The vet who examined the swine on their arrival in Langley found no cause for concern, and an investigation by the BC SPCA resulted in no charges. “It was concluded that
there was not sufficient evidence to support [a] recommendation for charges as what transpired apparently is within ‘generally acceptable practices of animal management,’” Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer with the BC SPCA said. “To be honest, I found this disappointing but [it] points to the need to see changes in the federal transportation regulations.” Travel time to
slaughterhouses was a hot
topic during discussions regarding BC meat processing capacity this spring. Many producers expressed concern with the distance animals travel to slaughter, because it inconveniences both producers and the animals. “What we hear is a common concern for the welfare of the animals,” Jackie Tegert, deputy chair of the legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fish and Food, told Country Life in BC this summer. “People need to be able to slaughter animals, and when you think about having them on a truck in the summer heat for two or four hours, that is pretty tough.”
While in Vancouver this past summer for meetings with provincial agriculture ministers and farm organizations, federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay, whose portfolio includes the CFIA, told Country Life in BC that ensuring animal welfare is an important part of building public trust in the food system. “You have to have public trust, without any question, within the country and outside of the country,” he said.
REPORT While the committee’s
failure to make specific recommendations frustrates producer groups, committee chair Ronna-Rae Leonard has an explanation. “As a committee we can
make recommendations; we don’t have the power to make change,” she says. “You have an all-party committee that is trying to consolidate all of the comments and frame it in a way that will move the agenda forward.” “In the report you have a
lot of recommendations that talk about partnership collaboration and discussion,” adds deputy chair Jackie Tegart. “What we wanted to do as a committee was to encourage collaboration with industry and indicate to the Ministry of Agriculture that there are concerns and to encourage them to talk with people in the field, in regards to … the best way to deal with [concerns].” That’s the kind of lengthy
process Smith hoped could be avoided.
Running out of time
“We just don't know if the small-scale meat industry can wait much longer,” she says, noting that one of her association’s members had to take her turkeys to Vancouver Island for processing because there was no capacity in the Lower Mainland. Woodbury sees the same
urgency. Her counterparts in Alberta and Ontario can’t believe that BC allows the sale of uninspected meat in
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2018 nfrom page 27
certain areas as a way to get around the shortage of inspectors. Other facilities have had to cancel bookings because, she says, “there are not enough provincial inspectors to work with them.”
Capacity issues The report does little to
address processing capacity issues. It doesn’t recommend increasing total animal units at D & E plants, or supporting the completion of more A & B plants, including D & E plants that are looking to upgrade. Indeed, the report makes
only two specific actionable recommendations: reducing travel times to one hour between facilities and seeking ways to make mobile slaughter capacity accessible to small producers. “That is a possible way to alleviate some of the capacity issues,” says Smith. “But right now the requirement to have a permanent kill floor and direct-source potable water make it expensive. Why can’t water come in on the mobile plant?” Woodbury notes that the
report does speak to the multiple staffing and training issues across the province. “The problem is, there are no specifics around funding,” says Woodbury. “We know that we need more training, but will the money come from the Ministry of Agriculture or Advanced Education?” Woodbury and Smith both
FAST MOWING, FAST DRYDOWN
say they’re urging government to take specific actions to help processors. Leonard, for her part, says agriculture minister Lana Popham is taking the committee’s report seriously. “[She] took a look at the
report fairly quickly and is encouraged by it,” says Leonard. “So I expect that there will be actions taken.”
FC TC CENTER-PIVOT MOWER CONDITIONERS • Standard drawbar or 2-point Gyrodine®
• Lubed-for-life Optidisc® cutterbar and Fast-Fit® 10’2”, 11’6” and 13’ working widths
Matsqui Ag-Repair Abbotsford, BC
604-826-3281
Noble Tractor & Equipment Armstrong, BC
250-546-3141
Kamloops, BC 250-851-3101
Northline Equipment, Ltd. Dawson Creek, BC
250-719-7470
swivel hitch for tight turns blades
• Finger, rubber roller or steel roller conditioning - adjustable to match any crop • Allows wide spreading to over 90% of cut width for accelerated drydown
KuhnNorthAmerica.com
INVEST IN QUALITY® m
Huber Farm Equipment Prince George, BC
250-560-5431 Visit your local KUHN Dealer today!
Now $5 per head generating project funds B.C. and Canada
website
www.cattlefund.net
checkoff@cattlefund.net
1-877-688-2333
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
