Humane transport regulations in effect next month

Jan 06, 2020

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

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.