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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
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| WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 | |
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GOOD HANDLING PAYS: TAKING CARE OF YOUR LOAD |
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Terry WHITING, DVM, MSC Disease Control and Epidemiology Manitoba Agriculture and Food Veterinary Services Branch 545 University Crescent Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5S6 Grew up on a mixed beef and hog farm near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario. Graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1984 he was in mixed practice in Sarnia and returned to the University of Guelph to complete a Masters in clinical medicine in 1988, dealing with respiratory disease of performance horses. He returned to general mixed practice for two years in Ontario, and joined the Federal Civil Service in 1990 in Wynyard Saskatchewan. Working with the federal government department of agriculture from 1990 to 1998 he held the positions of district veterinarian, veterinary operations manager and disease control specialist. During this time he developed an interest in the safe and humane transportation of animals and in the evolution of farm assurance programs. Terry was on the development committee for the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council Horse Code of Practice (1998), the Transport Code of Practice (2001) and the Swine Segregated Early Weaning Amendment (2003). Terry has authorship on several peer-reviewed papers relating to animal welfare and disease control.
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Minimum Space Allowances When Transporting Animals: Articulating "Good" Law
Terry WHITING,
dvm, msc
Government decisions in the areas of food safety and farming practices are increasingly affected by widely divergent views of the general public. There is increasing pressure if not justification in democratic societies for regulatory intervention in livestock production. Regulatory intervention is one expression of the will of the people. A new law results when society decides it is appropriate to surrender some aspects of individual choice and freedom for the benefit of the whole. In application of the rule of law, the will of the society directed through some arm of government, forces certain behaviour in the individual. Implicit in law is either the compulsion that thou shall or thou shall not do some thing and the “thing” is often described either as an outcome (manslaughter) or as a specific behaviour (speeding), and is a “violation” of applicable law (offence). Describing laws, especially what is a “violation/offence” has become exceedingly difficult. For example the 10 Commandments contain 297 words; The Bill of Rights (USA) is stated in 463 words and the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities; Final Rule and Notice Federal Register: January 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 2) contains 107,648 words.
Five Components of a “Good” Law Prohibited behavior is casually related to a negative outcome (intuitive) The violation is easily & objectively measured (precision) The violation is related to a modifiable human behaviour (moral cause) The violation is a concept easily understood by all languages and cultures (transparent) The violation may be adapted to local circumstances without a change in law.
Example: “it is an offense to exceed the posted speed limit” (graduated & flexible) Surface area available per animal is commonly referred to stocking density, although different scientific units are used to describe floor space allowance. Units such as area per animal (area), weight of animal per area (pressure), or standardized space unit (area per 100 kg) have been used to describe the relative floor space allowance of animals in transit in scientific literature. The fact that space requirements change as the animal grows and plethora of units of measurement reflects an inherent difficulty in communicating the concept of stocking density to various users. This inherent difficulty in communication violates the transparency requirements of a good law. Visual representation of stocking density measurements As animals increase in size, their weight increases as a function of their length3, while the floor space they require increases as a function of their length2. On a weight per unit area of trailer floor, fewer kilograms of feeder calves than of market cattle can be loaded. There is a curvilinear mathematical function that accurately describes the relationship of floor space required in transit and body weight of any livestock in a standard level of finish. Describing the maximum as a mathematical formula has been repeatedly supported by scientists and graphical representation of numerical information can serve as an instrument for reasoning about quantitative data. Although common in scientific literature, limited success has been realized in attempting to use graphical representation of numerical information as a method of setting a standard for legal purposes. In Law tabulated standards persist. [ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 1337 kb |
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Canadian Food Inspection Agency 59 Camelot Drive Ottawa ON K1A 0Y9 CANADA Tel: + 1 613 -225-2342 Direct: + 1 613-228-6696 x3779 Toll free: + 1 800-442-2342 Facsimile: + 1 613-228-6637
Mag.med.vet. (equiv
D.V.M.) University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria (1996),
Dr.med.vet. (equiv. PhD), Vienna
(2001). Veterinarian in food animal practice in Austria and the UK, border veterinarian at an EU/third country veterinary border inspection post. Planned and implemented surveillance inspection program for long-distance livestock transports for a private veterinary quality control agency. With CFIA since 2003 as Humane Transportation Specialist.
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Defining
Overloaded versus Overcrowded:
Martin APPELT, MRCVS Canadian Food Inspection Agency
“Driving a Truck" is more than turning a wheel and shifting gears. Today's truckers have to be able to know of and follow a whole array of rules and regulations. With respect to the live load, "overcrowded" and "overloaded" are sometimes mixed up -what do these terms mean? Routine can be your worst enemy when it comes to figuring out loading densities. A trailer may "normally" hold 240 market hogs - at 240 lbs each - but when the next load of pigs weighs in at 20 lbs more a piece, "normal" is suddenly different. But do not panic. Tools are available and it is surprisingly easy to figure out how many animals can be loaded safely. Load too many and your margin of error may become very thin, indeed. Overcrowding causes bruising, injury and possibly death - and all of this may affect the money in your wallet.
[ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 213 kb |
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11 Bruns Road Lacombe, AB T4L 1P1 Tel: +1 403-782-5153 Fax: +1 403-782-5120 Joyce Van Donkersgoed was raised on a mixed cattle and grain farm in southern Alberta. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1985 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. After practicing in Alberta as a beef cattle practitioner, she returned to Saskatoon and completed a Master of Veterinary Science degree in Advanced Bovine Medicine and Epidemiology. After working at the veterinary college and VIDO for several years, Joyce returned to Alberta and began working as a consultant for the cattle industry in the areas of beef quality, pre-harvest food safety, animal health and environmental matters. She conducted Canada’s two national beef quality audits, a carcass bruising study and has worked with industry to develop good production practice manuals for feedlot and cow/calf producers on how to reduce carcass defects. Joyce is a past President of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners and well published in the lay and scientific press.
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The Price of
Bruising and How to Avoid It
Joyce VAN DONKERSGOED, DVM, MVS
Beef quality audits conducted in the United States and Canada of fed and nonfed cattle have identified carcass bruising as a significant quality defect. The National Beef Quality Audit-2000 was conducted to determine the quality of US fed steers and heifers. Fifty-three percent of the carcasses were not bruised, 30.9% had one bruise, and 15.8% had multiple bruises. Bruise location and incidence were round (14.9%), loin (25.9%), rib (19.4%), chuck (28.2%), and brisket, flank, and plate (11.6%). In 1995, estimated economic losses were $4.03/anmal for bruises or $114 M annually. In the 1999 audit in market cows and bulls, 83% of all carcasses had a bruise. Across all primals, 72% of cow carcasses and 27% of bull carcasses had multiple bruises. In the 1998-99 Canadian beef quality audit, bruises were found on 54% of the carcasses. Cows had the highest number of bruises. The prevalence of critical bruises was higher in bulls and cows than fed heifers and steers. The economic losses from bruising were $1.17/steer, $1.03/heifer, $2.23/cow and $0.91/bull, with a total economic loss from trim and devaluation of product estimated at $4.3 M. Methods to reduce carcass bruising include: gentle handling of cattle at all times; reduced handling of cattle; good body condition score; minimal use of prods and sticks; well designed facilities, including loading and unloading areas; smooth surface gates, fences, and chutes; non-slip floors; counter-weighed vertical slide gates in chutes; gate bottoms padded with cut tires or conveyor belts; gates in drive alleys equipped with tie backs to prevent swinging out into the alley; slow steady movements and optimal pressure on restraints; culling of wild temperament breeding animals; dehorning of baby calves; reduced mixing of strange animals together preslaughter; loading cattle on trucks to the optimal density and in compartments suitable for their height; use of the livestock safety cushion in trailers; good road driving techniques; nonslip material in trucks; and trucks with wide tail gates.
[ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 270 kb |
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Calico Beef Consulting Box 12805 Las Vegas, NV 89112
PH (702)
566-1456 Tim O'Byrne has gathered most of his beef cattle and horse experience while working on some of North America’s largest commercial cow-calf and feedlot operations. He started his consulting business near Calgary, Alberta in 1994. Initially, Tim developed high school and college level extension courses on livestock handling and compliance with agricultural law. He now focuses much of his attention on livestock transportation issues. He worked with Alberta Farm Animal Care Association and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to develop the Cattle Handling & Hauling course in 1997. The course has been utilized by the regulatory, beef packing, transport and cattle production sectors with over 650 participants taking part in the half-day sessions. Tim is recognized as an expert witness in livestock related litigation. He has published a book on the working cattle dog and is a frequent contributor to Western Horseman Magazine. In 2003 he relocated his consulting business to Las Vegas, NV. [ Back to Top ] |
The
Decision Tree: The Unfit Animal and
When to Reject
Tim
O’BYRNE
It is the shipper’s responsibility to sort and tender only fit animals for transport. The transporter also has a responsibility to assess and accept the load. If there are suspect animals tendered for transport, the transporter should reserve the right of refusal. In this session Tim O’Byrne presented the new Alberta Farm Animal Care Association / Alberta Beef Producers Humane Handling of Beef Cattle – Standards for the Care of Unfit Animals. This handbook will be issued to all cattle shippers, transporters and receivers to assist them in deciding which animals are fit for transport, and how to handle them during the entire relocation process.
[ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 2564 kb |
ANIMAL
TRANSPORTATION
ASSOCIATION
