The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) Health of Animals Regulations will change next month, following several years of consultation with industry. The changes, affecting animal transporters, were first announced in February 2019 and will officially come into force on February 20, 2020.
The new requirements have been introduced and take an outcome-based approach to ensure the proper care of animals in transit. See the summary of changes that compares the 2019 amendments with the original 1977 requirements, and see the timeline of changes that details the development process.
The most-significant change specifically affecting hog transport is that pigs must not be without feed, water or rest for more than 28 hours. After this maximum amount of time has been reached, pigs are required to be given a period of eight hours to be fed, watered and rested.
While the change to rest hours is significant in nature, many other subtle changes have been made as part of modernizing and standardizing the regulation. In the coming year, Alberta Pork will modify its training materials to reflect these changes, and information sessions will assist self-hauling producers in adapting their transport practices.
CFIA will implement a transition period for livestock sectors, including pork, to respond to the changes. During the first two years, CFIA will focus its enforcement efforts on compliance promotion through education and awareness. Learn more about CFIA humane transport and animal welfare.
Source : Alberta Pork