insights

With increasing questions from the public on how livestock are raised, processors are increasingly pressured to provide proof that the fed cattle they purchase meet recognized welfare standards. National Cattle Feeders Association (NCFA), along with our federal processors, built a national feedlot welfare assessment/audit tool to provide reassurances to retailers and the public that feedlot cattle in Canada are raised humanely.

Over the last 3 years, an Animal Care Advisory Committee consisting of experts from Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, feedlot producers, feedlot veterinarians, animal scientists, and ethologists worked together to develop a practical, credible, and scientifically sound feedlot audit tool that would improve animal welfare while providing necessary reassurances to the public. The Canadian Beef Code of Practice was used as a basis for the development of the audit tool, along with information from the North American Meat Institute cattle handling audit tool, the US Beef Quality Assurance feedlot guidelines, and the Common Swine Industry Audit.

The audit tool was pilot tested across 32 feedlots of varying sizes across Canada and revised based on input from producers. As well, 2 large retail meetings were held in Calgary and Toronto gathering input from retailers, such as McDonalds, Walmart, Sobeys, Loblaws, Federated Co-op, and Overwaitea.

Through genetic selection, the modern day broiler has undergone improvements in appetite, its ability to efficiently gain weight, and in its survivability. However, the resulting rapid growth in commercial broiler strains may also effect broiler gait. Broiler during a gait assessment trial wearing reflective markers for kinematic evaluation Current gait assessment methods can be subjective as they rely on observers to determine the quality of a broiler’s gait using a short multi-point scale. This often results in subtle lameness being missed as most assessment methods were designed to only give an indication of either no problem or whether there is a severe gait concern. Therefore, there is need for more objective means of assessing subtle differences in broiler gait. At the University of Alberta, applied ethologist, Dr. Clover Bench, and her team, are working on a new way to analyse and evaluate broiler gait using 3D kinematic motion capture technology. The results of this research will provide broiler genetics companies with a new means of assessing gait which could be included as part of selection programs.

Compared to other sectors of the livestock industry equine may be classed as more fragmented. Many, if not most of the other livestock species are under or within umbrella organizations. Species populations in much of the livestock industry are concentrated by flocks, feedlots, herds etc. It may be submitted that for the most part patrons and enthusiasts of the equine sector may have fewer than four animals. For the most part owners of equine may not be members of a breed, discipline or other organization. This would submit most of the horse owners in Canada may be driven by a narrow passion. Therefore it may be reasonable to assume technical and/or science based research and the results thereof have not been adequately identified or circulated. We have not learned the priorities of need or how to direct the information to the majority of the equine community. Within very recent years efforts have commenced to identify critical areas of concern within the equine sector of the livestock industry.

1. BIOSECURITY: Biosecurity is a preventative process to reduce the chances of infectious diseases. The practice of biosecurity should be a planned process on every property where animals and/or humans frequent or reside. In 2011 Alberta Equestrian Federation (AEF) initiated a project with the cooperation of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Growing Forward to promote more and better biosecurity practices in the equine community. The project grew to become a National program with the National Farm and Facility Level Biosecurity Standard for the Equine Sector manual now in print and available from all provincial/territorial and other equine organizations.

As the public becomes more knowledgeable and more aware of food production practices, the need to provide assurances about the quality of life of our farm animals is growing in importance. This is, however, easier said than done given that many of the people not involved in agriculture rarely ask about how much milk a cow is producing but rather focus their questions on whether she is ‘happy’. As a behaviour scientist working in the Animal Welfare Team at AgResearch in New Zealand, I have been given the mandate to look for ways to ask cows how they feel – in essence I am trying to find ways to determine their emotional response. My work is supported by DairyNZ Ltd., an industry organization representing New Zealand’s dairy farmers. The industry recognizes that a good life for cows is not simply about the absence of negative experiences, but also the provision for positive ones.

The poultry industry has evolved over the last several decades and it is important to understand how and why those changes have taken place. In this article we will explore the modern laying hen and why we can be proud of these birds.

The modern laying hen evolved from the insectivorous jungle fowl, which lived in dense forests and spent 60-80% of the day foraging. Historically speaking, poultry were the responsibility of the “farmer’s wife”. It was her job to feed and house the birds as well as to collect the eggs. These systems were largely outdoors with many birds running around freely during the day to peck and scratch for feed. The birds themselves were typically dual purpose and kept on mixed farms. Housing was in mixed sex groups, in naturally lit barns or outdoors. Shelter was sometimes provided in the form of a coop that birds would use to roost in at night. Birds were fed home-grown cereals and kitchen scraps. They received little to no vaccination or health care and were largely exposed to predators. For these reasons, birds did not grow to their full potential.

Why group housing? Housing of milk-fed calves in pairs or groups is rapidly increasing in popularity on Canadian dairy farms. Two key reasons behind this change are the use of automatic feeders to deliver milk and grain, and the potential of reducing labour requirements per head. Many studies support the practice of keeping calves in groups from birth. For example, calves can perform social behaviours and are better able to adapt to changes in their environment, such as regrouping or new foods. Research has also shown that socially housed calves are “smarter” in cognitively challenging tasks, especially when having to re-learn a known task.

Learning from others.

Research on different enrichment materials for pigs has shown that giving appropriate enrichments to growing pigs can result in reduced aggression, reduced fear, improved growth and fewer behavioural vices such as tail-biting. Some commonly used enrichment materials are straw, chains, wood, rope, mushroom compost, wood shavings, garden hose, peat moss and rubber balls.

Although European research has identified straw and other malleable and consumable materials as being optimal, there has been a reluctance to provide such materials in North America.

As we face the increasing size of the human population, it is projected that meat consumption will increase as well. At the same time, consumers are more aware and have increased their interest in traits related to animal welfare and health. By far, most pigs are finishers, kept in groups from 10 to, possibly, 400 or more. In these groups social skills of animals help to reduce stress. Too often we only observe from the negative side: traits like tail biting, aggressive behaviours resulting from stress, aggressive social interactions with other pigs and with humans.Behavioural traits have the potential to change the efficiency of pork production in the future, while at the same time improving welfare and reducing medication. Therefore, they are becoming economically important traits in breeding programs.