Postcards draw attention to Canadian wool

Oct 03, 2022

The federal government has released its policy framework designed to “strengthen and grow” Canada’s agriculture sector and some Canadian shepherds and processors think they know where some of those funds should go.

They are carrying out a postcard campaign that includes letters to federal and provincial government officials to attract more attention to the wool industry.

Manitoba sheep farmer Anna Hunter, owner of the province’s only wool mill, hopes to draw the attention of government officials and attract some funding for Canadian wool.

Like many in her industry, Hunter found herself swamped by custom processing orders sent with the bags of wool shipped from sheep farms across the Prairies. Faced with untenable turn-around times, she and her husband were forced to contact customers to tell them that wait times were longer than anticipated.

“That caused a lot of anger and frustration,” she said. “And rightly so.”

Hunter wrote a letter to her provincial and federal representatives, which caught the attention of sheep specialists from Manitoba’s department of agriculture who called Hunter looking for more information.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.