Ontario producer group provides industry advice after B.C. chicken farm video surfaces

Jun 14, 2017

Checking references is paramount

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Industry representatives are reminding all livestock producers to conduct thorough interviews with potential employees. This advice comes after an animal abuse video surfaced from a chicken farm in British Columbia on June 12. The filmed employees were from Elite Farm Services, a chicken-catching service.

“Make sure you know who you’re interviewing and follow-up with reference checks,” Kendra Keels, director of industry and producer development at Veal Farmers of Ontario, told Farms.com. “Because people who pose to get onto farms can tell a good story.”

Producers could go as far as requesting a criminal background check from potential employees if they feel it’s necessary, Keels said.

But trusting their own gut instincts can go a long way, too.

“If something doesn’t feel right, maybe (producers) should act on it,” she said.

Having employees sign an animal care code of conduct can help drive home the idea that animal husbandry is a crucial part of any livestock operation.

“By signing the document, (employees) promise not to commit any animal abuse,” Keels said. “And, if they see any (abuse), they are to report it to their superior immediately.”

The people who filmed the animal abuse on the B.C. farm aren’t exempt from scrutiny, according to Keels.

“They’re videotaping the abuse but they don’t report it to anybody,” Keels said. “It’s like they’re encouraging it. I think they are (guiltier).

“What’s the point of (these individuals) being there if they’re trying to improve animal welfare but don’t do anything when they see abuse?”

The video shows workers abusing broiler chickens.

Since its release, Chicken Farmers of Canada and the BC SPCA have condemned the actions, calling it “reprehensible” and “absolutely sickening” in their respective releases.

Sofina Foods, the company who hired the workers, also took a stance on the animal abuse cases, calling for the employees to be dismissed.

Elite Farm Services has fired five employees, according to a June 13 release.

“We are sickened with the footage and want to ensure all our suppliers and producers that this is not reflective of who we are, our fundamental beliefs or behaviour we accept from our employees,” Dwayne Dueck, president of Elite Farm Services, said in the statement.

The BC SPCA is compiling a report to potentially lay charges.

If convicted, the workers and companies involved could face a $75,000 fine and a maximum of five years in jail.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.