Laws & Inspection of Livestock in Transport, CFIA

In Alberta, both the Alberta SPCA and the CFIA regulate livestock in transportation. The federal legislation, Health of Animals Regulations, Part 12, Subsection 138(2)(1), that prohibits the loading or transport of an animal that by "reason of infirmity, illness, injury, fatigue or any other cause cannot be transported without undue suffering during the expected journey." Provincial legislation is similar.

Unannounced inspection 'blitzes' are conducted across Canada. Inspectors check the trucks, the density of the load, the bedding, the condition of the animals. The CFIA is working to ensure that animal welfare is maintained throughout the entire journey. The CFIA regulates the transport of all live animals in Canada. It develops and implements Canadian standards in the transport of animals and follows through with enforcement.

The CFIA is committed to the welfare of animals during transport, says Gord Doonan, coordinator of the Humane Transport of Animals Program for the CFIA. Owners and producers do not have control of the care of their animals during transport after they have left the farm, so we provide and enforce guidelines for their proper handling.

The CFIA enforces Part 12 of the Health of Animals Regulations, which govern the way all animals are transported into, within and out of Canada by all modes, air, land and water. These standards are based on research about animal welfare issues (such as overcrowding, animal stress during transport an sanitary conditions.

Voluntary standards, such as the Recommended Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals series complement the regulations by providing details, such as recommended maximum loading densities. Click here to view an article on the current state of the Codes.

The various stages of transport, including loading and unloading live animals, are monitored by CFIA inspectors to ensure that all regulatory standards are met. However, the CFIA encourages animal producers and other involved parties to aim for the higher voluntary standard.

Doonan emphasizes the dynamic nature of these standards and the CFIA's constantly changing roles in regulating the transport of animals within Canada. Old protocol must be re-evaluated and revised at regular intervals to address new concerns and issues in animal transport as they arise, such as mode of transportation and distance of transport.

The CFIA also examines animal welfare standards enforced by other countries and institutions for their appropriateness and possible application in Canada.

If regulations or voluntary standards in other countries differ from our own, we investigate to see why, Doonan says. We can learn something from other countries. We might see something that could make us reconsider and possibly improve, our own regulations.

For Doonan, the most important tool for maintaining the welfare of animals in transport is good communication between the concerned parties including animal producers, animal welfare organizations, the government, industry, the public, researchers, transporters and veterinarians and veterinary colleges.

Collaboration is the most effective ways to improvement, he says.