By Bruce Cochrane.
The General Manager of the National Farm Animal Care Council says a review of research related to the transportation of livestock is now underway and should be complete by March 2018.
Canada's Transportation Code of Practice is a national guideline for the care and handling farm animals during transportation and it covers all of the species that have an on-farm Code of Practice.
The National Farm Animal Care Council, as a first step toward a planned update of the code, has formed a Transportation Code Scientific Committee.
Jackie Wepruk, the General Manager of National Farm Animal Care Council, says the scientific committee has been charged compiling and synthesizing existing research related to the transportation of various livestock species.
Jackie Wepruk-National Farm Animal Care Council:
We did have a survey out some time ago and collected what the different views were and then brought together all of NFAC's members and the scientific committee to look at what the thoughts were on the priority welfare issues, where was the research and based on that the priority welfare issue that the scientific committee will be looking at is what is the effect of transport duration, time off feed and water, rest intervals where appropriate by species, environmental conditions and loading density as single factors or in combination on animal welfare.
It's a big priority welfare issue and then for this issue the Scientific Committee is going to look at the available research particular to cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and equine because those are the species where we knew that there was some research available to answer that question.
It's a big priority welfare issue and it is on our web site so anyone can go and look there as to what the issue is.
Wepruk says the scientific committee has begun its literature review and has until March 2018 to compile its finding and provide a report.
Source: Farmscape