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Should that animal be loaded and is it fit for transport?
These are questions often asked by farmers, vets, transporters and sales
barn staff. The Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) has coordinated some
new resources to help with those sometimes difficult decisions.
A new set of “Should this animal be loaded?” decision tree charts for
cattle, sheep and goats and a separate chart for pigs have been produced
to reflect the recent changes to the Health of Animals Act regarding
non-ambulatory animals. The new regulations prohibit the loading or
transporting of non-ambulatory animals, defined as “unable to stand
without assistance or to move without being dragged or carried” and cannot
be transported without undue suffering during the expected journey. A
Canadian Food Inspection Agency policy on this issue has been in effect
since February 2005, and the regulations were published in Gazette Part II
on June 29, 2005.
These resources will be sent to producers and veterinarians directly and
will be available at OFAC display racks at every sales barn in the
province. The charts will also be distributed to others by Ontario Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA), Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) staff.
This initiative was supported by the Ontario Humane Transport Working
Group, whose members include OMAFRA, CFIA, OSPCA, the Ontario Trucking
Association, OFAC and its members. The Working Group meets several times
each year to discuss farm animal welfare issues, with a focus on
transportation.
Work is underway on a laminated poster for sales barns and a more
comprehensive guide for dealing with compromised cattle to be released
later this summer. Funding for this program was made available to OFAC
through the BSE Recovery Program- Cull Animal Strategy.
Copies of the resources and more information on the new non-ambulatory
regulations are available on the OFAC website:
www.ofac.org . Decision tree charts can
be ordered by emailing: admin@ofac.org
or phoning the OFAC office at (905) 821-3880.
The Ontario Farm Animal Council is the voice for animal agriculture,
representing over 35,000 livestock and poultry farmers, associations and
businesses on issues in animal agriculture such as animal care, food
safety, biotechnology and the environment.
For more information:
Crystal Mackay
OFAC Executive Director
Phone: (905) 821-3880 email:
cmackay@ofac.org
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