Canadian Pork Producers:

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Wednesday, March 04, 2009Print This Page
New Hog Assembly Yard Being Planned
CANADA - Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op expects to begin the construction of a new hog assembly yard near Stonewall this spring, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Until July 2008, when Manitoba Pork Marketing decommissioned its Marion Street assembly yard, hogs were assembled in Winnipeg.

The cooperative currently operates assembly yards at Neepawa and New Bothwell and is planning a third facility in the Stonewall area around the Perimeter Highway and Number 6 highway at Winnipeg Livestock.

Co-op CEO Perry Mohr recalls there were half a dozen packing plants in Winnipeg 25 years ago but now there are none and Brandon has become hog central.

Perry Mohr-Manitoba Pork Marketing
There is a void that needs to be filled in this Winnipeg area.

We've presently got producers that are hauling their pigs all the way from the Interlake area down into New Bothwell to be assembled so they're paying freight to go to New Bothwell and then they're paying freight from New Bothwell to other destinations as well and in some cases they're back-tracking.

We also have participated in the sow assembly business for as long as I have been involved in the industry.

The volumes are certainly large enough.

It's also a revenue opportunity and a service opportunity for the co-op.

If you look at that particular area there's a Hutterite demographic there that's quite densely populated with Hutterites and we're hoping to capture some of the cull market as well with that facility out at Stonewall.

Mohr says the co-op received engineered blueprints last week, the work is being tendered now and delegates will make a final decision on the project the their annual meeting in April.

He hopes to see construction in begin in the spring and the facility fully operational by mid-summer.

[mikey]

Thursday, March 05, 2009Print This Page
Animal Rights Activists May Mislead Consumers
CANADA - A Washington, D.C. based communications specialist warns the growing disconnection of the urban population from the farm leaves the majority vulnerable to the strategies used by animal rights activists, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Production agriculture has become the target of animals rights activists who have been extremely successful in capturing the attention of the public and bringing about legislative restrictions on livestock producers.

Dan Murphy, a communications specialist with Outsource Marketing, says we now have a population where the majority of people are disconnected from what goes on in producing our food and are more easily swayed by myth, misconception and misinformation.

Dan Murphy-Outsource Marketing
Most people have never been to a hog production facility, never been to a feed lot, never understood what it takes to manage farm animals and food animals efficiently.

It's easy to use visual images, pirated underground videos and other tools that these activist groups are so good at getting to create the idea that production agriculture is one giant circle of abuse, that animals are mistreated from birth through death.

When the images are so graphic and so powerful to people who don't have the background in what life is like on a farm, it's very easy for them to buy into this myth that, if you care about animals, you need to stop eating meat, you need to put a stop to the production of livestock and you need to change the way you think about production agriculture.

Murphy suggests farmers need to adopt some of the same strategies these opponents of agriculture have been so gifted at using.

He says dealing with consumers on an emotional level will open the door to talk about the science but, until you connect with something people care about, all of the science in the world wont make a dent in how people perceive and how they think about production agriculture.

[mikey]

Monday, March 09, 2009Print This Page
Canada to Re-Instate WTO Challenge to COOL
CANADA - The federal agriculture minister says Canada is prepared to resurrect its World Trade Organization challenge to US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling rules once such action becomes necessary, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Following the mid-January release of the final rule for US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling the government of Canada shelved its request for formal consultations with the US over the legislation under the World Trade Organization dispute setting mechanism.

In the wake of United States agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack's subsequent request for additional voluntary labelling measures, that go beyond the requirements outlined in the final rule, several Canadian agricultural organizations have called on Ottawa to re-initiate that challenge.

Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz acknowledges comments regarding additional "voluntary labelling" are causing uncertainty and concern for livestock industries on both sides of the border.

Gerry Ritz-Canadian Agriculture Minister
What we've asked industry to do is give us some quantifiable results showing where contracts have been denied, they haven't been fulfilled.

We're starting to see huge differentials, more so than historical differentials in the value of Canadian beef as opposed to US beef.

There is always some but we're seeing that scale widen.

We are starting to get quite a number of those types of things happening.

Of course here in Manitoba it's all about weanling pork and we're seeing those results.

We are in, as I said, constant contact with Vilsack's office.

I know my office was in discussions with his, I am lining up face to face meetings with secretary Vilsack just as soon as I can possibly get away from a minority government situation as we have and will continue discussions.

At the same time we are more than ready to move forward with the WTO challenge to the next steps.

Mr Ritz says the agriculture secretary's request for voluntary labelling measures is causing more anxiety than even he thought it might.

He notes, having said that, Canada's challenge is idling at the curb waiting to go and will move forward when the time is right

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009Print This Page
Multiple Labels Appearing in US Grocery Stores
CANADA - A three state survey has shown a variety of Country of Origin Labels are appearing on pork and beef products in US grocery stores in response to new US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling regulations, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
To assess the response of US meat packers and retailers to new US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling, representatives of Manitoba Pork Council visited five grocery stores in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota to see what labels are being used and to survey US Consumers.

Manitoba Pork Council Chairman Karl Kynoch reports the five stores that were checked were carrying a variety of labels.

Karl Kynoch-Manitoba Pork Council
Out of the five major stores we did find labels that said product of US

There was strait product of the US both in pork and beef and then in the pork also there was labels that said product of US and Canada and then in the beef side they had labels there that also said product of US Canada Mexico.
So the one thing we found out is that all three labels are showing up in the stores in the US so that was very interesting to see that the majority of packers are actually already doing the joint labelling.

But at the same time when we were in the stores, we kind of hung around to see some of the consumers that were shopping for the product and one of the questions that we asked consumers when we saw them was what do they base their buying decisions on.

And basically number one was price.

They're looking for price.

They're also looking for a dependable company.

If they were comfortable buying Hormel product, they kind of stuck with that.

Also quality was another thing that came up.

But the one thing that did not come up from all of the consumers that we talked to was the country that the product comes from.

When we would prompt them about that, about the only thing they would say is, well yea I guess that's important but, when we talked to them about Canada, there was not one consumer that had any concern with product coming out of Canada.

Mr Kynoch says, while it appears the stores have no problem carrying Canadian product, at the end of the day it will depend on whether the stores want to continue to carry it and whether the packers want to continue to use two or three different labels.

[mikey]

Tuesday, March 10, 2009Print This Page
New Production Technologies Improve DDGS Quality
CANADA - Researchers with the University of Manitoba are finding new technologies for producing ethanol from grain results in higher quality co-products, writes Bruce Cochrane.


University news is a Wonderworks Canada Production courtesy of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba.
Visit us at www.universitynews.org 
A multi-disciplinary research effort at the University of Manitoba is developing new lines of winter wheat, assessing the value of those lines in producing ethanol and evaluating the co-products for use in swine, poultry and cattle rations and in human food.

Dr. Karin Wittenberg, the associate dean of research with the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, reports distillers dried grains with solubles, the co-product of ethanol production, contains high levels of protein, fibre, minerals and vitamins and can be an excellent feed or food ingredient.

Dr. Karin Wittenberg-Dr. Karin Wittenberg
The distillers dried grains that are the co-product have fairly high protein levels, they have a fairly good amino acid profile, they have the same fibres, oils, minerals and vitamins except in a more concentrated form than in the existing grain and so they provide excellent opportunity to supplement diets for animals.

Dried distillers grains have been around forever.

Distilleries which basically all take starches, whether it's from corn or wheat or rye, to produce various alcohols have these co-products.

What's different today is that we have newer processing technologies being used in our plants, in many ways better processing technologies from the perspective of the quality of the dried distillers grains that are being produced and so we have more opportunities today to utilize these co-products in animal diets than in years gone by and we're really just trying to optimize that.

Dr. Wittenberg says researchers are finding the nutritional value of these new generation co-products are superior to what was being produced at some of the older plants in western Canada.

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Friday, March 13, 2009Print This Page
Lost Access to Pigs Threatens US Industries
CANADA - US pork producers who rely on Canadian origin pigs fear their industry and their livelihoods will be devastated if they lose access to those pigs, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Calls for additional measures that go beyond those required by the final rule for Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling, scheduled to take effect 16 March, have heightened fears that US processing plants will no longer kill Canadian origin pigs.

Jim Lynott, with Premier Swine at Hawarden, Iowa, runs about 20 thousand finishing spaces under contract with Saskatchewan based Big Sky Farms.

He says, in excess of two thousand finishing buildings in southwest Minnesota and western Iowa currently handle Canadian pigs and will be left empty if they lose access to those pigs.

Jim Lynott-Premier Swine
Domestic production of weanling pigs and feeder pigs is far below what would be necessary to fill all of the barns that are currently being utilized by Canadian pigs.

As we go forward here I'm sure there will be a kill-out period of six months where these pigs will be marketed away at what ever value can be gotten out of them.

Past that point, we'll have a lot of buildings standing empty which probably the most concerning thing to a lot of people in the particular area that we are in because of the fact that Canadian pigs are such an important part of the hog business in northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota.

With barns standing empty, a lot of folks out here that are highly leveraged against these barns, there will be a number of them that will turn the barns back over their lenders, forced sales that will greatly devalue these barns.

It could be as devastating here to the swine industry as what the housing debacle in this country has been to the home lenders.

Lynott is confident there are enough US packing plants willing to accept Canadian origin pigs under the law as it currently stands to allow business to continue.

He says the additional voluntary measures are what need to be shelved.

[mikey]

Tuesday, March 17, 2009Print This Page
Reduced Access to Pigs Threatens US Pork Exports
CANADA - A Minnesota-based pork industry service company fears the loss of access to Canadian born pigs by US producers will disrupt American pork exports, according to Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
The Final Rule for US Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (M-COOL) took effect yesterday, however Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has requested additional voluntary labelling measures.

Jesse Hooge, the director of business development with Worthington , Minnesota based ProPig says US packers are already not happy about having to provide multiple labels and additional regulations could make them decide to go with US born and raised only.

Jesse Hooge-ProPig
We have a large number of barns that we are contracted to that we're bringing pigs into from Canadian customers and there's a real risk that once we bring these pigs into these barns that there isn't going to be a place to market the animals.

Country of origin Labelling has essentially restricted what the packers are willing to do in regards to taking whether it be an A label pig or a B label pig or a C label pig.

From the packing capacity side of things, I think the number is eight per cent of the kill capacity comes from Canada currently.

We've seen a drastic reduction in the production as it is in our area, whether it be local farrowers being out of business or the number of open barns that were being filled by Canadian producers coming down.

With the industry where it is and our export business being strong, I personally believe are going to be at risk of whether or not they can fulfill contracts and be able to keep their export market to where it is.

A lot of the hope for the future in this who thing has come from our export markets and the realization that we are a world economy and that the US has become a primary producer of pork for the world.

Mr Hooge believes the current law offer flexibility and will allow the opportunity for pigs from Canada to be raised in the United States, slaughtered and marketed.

He says something needs to be done in regards to further voluntary actions.

[mikey]

Wednesday, March 18, 2009Print This Page
Canadian Pork Plant Approved to Export to EU
CANADA - The Canadian Pork Council is applauding approval of a Quebec based hog slaughter and pork cutting facility as Canada’s first integrated pork processing plant to be granted approval for the export of pork products to the European Union, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Quebec based Les Aliments Lucyporc has become the first Canadian pork processor to have an integrated pork processing plant granted approval for the export of pork products to the European Union under a veterinary protocol signed a couple of years ago which outlines conditions for the two to ship pork into each other's jurisdictions.

Canadian Pork Council executive director Martin Rice notes the EU represents a market of 500 million people.

Martin Rice-Canadian Pork Council
With Country of Origin Labelling we've been really confronted with serious uncertainty over the United States as the market that we've had over decades being our primary market.

Country of Origin Labelling is causing the US processors to doubt whether they can buy Canadian pigs.

Some have said they won't, some have been ready to take them, but at a discount.

While we are not giving up entirely on that trade, there's definitely been a serious dent in what has been, under NAFTA, an open trade situation so we really do need export alternatives.

We have tremendously lessened our dependence on the US for our pork exports over the years.

We once exported probably 80 per cent of our pork to the United States.

Now that's down to well under 40 per cent, even close to 30.

However we do have this large number of pigs that are currently exported to the US and, if we are going to be able to keep them at home, give economic alternative for those pigs to be finished in Canada, we're going to need additional export markets.

In addition we've been importing pork from the European Union for many years so I think it's just important to have a more equitable trade relationship than what we're used to.

Mr Rice is confident other Canadian plants will be approved for exporting pork to the EU.

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Thursday, March 19, 2009Print This Page
Canadian Gov't Improves Program for Hog Farmers
CANADA - The Government of Canada is extending its support for hog farmers who have downsized their herds to cope with tough economic times.



Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz yesterday announced that the time period covered by the Cull Breeding Swine Program has been extended, which will provide more assistance to farmers.

"This Government continues to work with Canadian pork producers to make sure they can weather this global economic storm," said Minister Ritz. "Some pork producers made tough business decisions to reduce their herds before this program started. We're changing the program to make sure those producers get the support they deserve."

"This Government will always stand up for Canadian pork producers, especially when they are going through difficult times," said the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture). "When producers ask us to improve programs, we will continue to work with them to make the changes they need."

The $50 million Cull Breeding Swine Program was announced in February 2008, with the objective of reducing the national breeding herd size by up to 10 per cent.

According to Msnbc, key components of the program are as follows:

Producers are eligible to receive a per head payment for each animal slaughtered, as well as reimbursement for slaughter and disposal costs.


Producers must agree to empty at least one barn, and not to restock for a three year period.


Animals must be slaughtered in a humane manner and disposed of in compliance with jurisdictional environmental requirements.
Originally, claims for culled breeding swine were covered between 1 November 2007 and 30 November 2008. The initial date has now been changed to include breeding swine culled between 1 August 2007 and 31 October 2007. Producers have until 30 June to make claims for breeding swine culled during this period. The program is delivered by the Canadian Pork Council.

[mikey]

Friday, March 20, 2009Print This Page
Looking to Europe for New Export Opportunities
CANADA - Canada Pork International is hoping the approval of a Quebec based pork processor to export products to the European Union will create interest among other companies in targeting that market, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Earlier this week Montreal based Lucyporc's Yamachiche, Quebec hog slaughter and pork cutting plant was granted approval to export pork products to the European Union.

Canada Pork International assistant executive director Martin Lavoie says, while the approval process had been in place, it became less onerous with the 2005 signing of an equivalency agreement between Canada and the EU which allows the two regions to recognize each others pork processing facilities.

Martin Lavoie-Canada Pork International
Plants that want to export to the EU have to meet Canadian standards plus a series of additional conditions to export to the EU.

Among them the main one is to have no carton in the cutting room.

There is also the use of plastic skids instead of wood skids in the plan, actually in the area where the meat is exposed.

Since Ractopamine has been allowed in Canada, any company that is interested in exporting to the European Union has to get the "Paylean Free" segregation protocol.

I think that, with some potential opening with the WTO negotiations, the future is brighter than it was before.

If you look at our competitors, it's just in the last two years that the US and Chile have made significant use of the TRQ's (Tariff Rate Quotas) available in Europe.

Mr Lavoie notes the EU is a huge high value market.

He says hopefully, in the future, we'll see interest among other Canadian companies in targeting the European Union.

[mikey]

Monday, March 23, 2009Print This Page
Extension of Cull Breeding Swine Program Applauded
CANADA - The Canadian Pork Council is applauding a three month extension of the retroactive portion of the Federal Cull Breeding Swine Program, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
The Cull Breeding Swine Program, which targeted a ten per cent reduction of the national breeding herd, offered payments to producers who agreed to depopulate barns and leave them empty of breeding stock for a minimum of three years.

Originally animals culled between 1 November 2007 and 30 November 2008 were eligible but last week agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced the retroactive portion is being extended to also include breeding swine culled between 1 August 2007 and 31 October 2007.

Canadian Pork Council public relations manager Gary Stordy says the extension will help those who began their culls early.

Gary Stordy-Canadian Pork Council
During the roll-out of this particular program we received feedback from producers from across Canada that they actually started reducing their herd size prior to the start date of 1 November.

The reason for that is we are a fairly large nation with pork production across Canada and, in some areas of Canada, they were feeling the economic impacts a lot earlier than other regions.

So we did put in a request to the minister about just background and some of the information we were receiving and he accepted and followed through and worked hard to have this particular program made retroactive to 1 August 2007 so it will help out a number of producers who have reduced their herd size prior to the original program.

Mr Stordy expects revised program details and application forms to be available within the next month and he encourages producers to begin assembling the information, such as shipping manifests, billings and payment receipts that will need to accompany the applications.

[mikey]

Tuesday, March 31, 2009Print This Page
Ottawa Commits Funding to Fight Swine Disease
CANADA - The federal government has unveiled phase two of national initiative to help pork producers combat disease and provide stability for Canada's swine sector, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
In the fall of 2007 Ottawa unveiled plans for a multi-phase program to help hog producers deal with disease, particularly Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases.

Phase one, which is nearing completion, included the creation of a program to assist in the identification and mitigation of PCVAD to help off-set some of the costs of diagnostic fees and vaccines.

Phase two was unveiled yesterday.

Parliamentary secretary for agriculture Pierre Lemieux says this initiative shows Canada takes animal health very seriously.

Pierre Lemieux-Government of Canada
We're talking about 76 million dollars rolled out in three phases. We've already delivered 25 million dollars which was a great help to our pork producers.

It basically halved the cost of administering the necessary vaccine to their pork herds.

Now that we're moving into phase two, we're announcing 40 million dollars over two years to basically develop and implement biosecurity best management practices.

That's a lot of words but what we want to do is basically study and understand better how the circovirus is showing up in these swine herds, what kind of things can be done to mitigate the spread, to mitigate the risk and what sorts of best practices can we implement and can pork producers implement to help prevent against the spreading of the circovirus.

It would be financially beneficial to pork producers if they did not have to vaccinate their herds at all.

So this is looking at ways to basically diminish the impact of the circovirus.

Lemieux says the Conservative government has a solid track record of listening to farmers and delivering real solutions and that's what's happening here.

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009Print This Page
Gov't Helps Farmers by Investing in Health of Hogs
CANADA - The Government of Canada is helping hog farmers by investing in an initiative to combat disease and provide stability for the sector.



Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Pierre Lemieux and MP Gary Schellenberger (Perth-Wellington) yesterday announced a federal investment in the hog industry to develop and implement biosecurity best management practices, research projects and long-term disease risk management solutions.

"Canada’s hog industry has been severely affected by diseases, but I’m proud to say this Conservative Government has shown strong support for the sector in addressing this serious issue," said Mr. Lemieux, who made the announcement on behalf of Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

"Over the next few years, hog farmers in this great riding and across Canada will benefit from healthier herds and a more competitive and profitable industry," said Mr. Schellenberger. "These are the types of smart investments our Government is making that will help the industry come out of these difficult economic times stronger than ever."

In order to assist the hog industry in addressing mid- to long-term aspects of disease risk management, phase two of this $76 million four-year initiative, that was announced in August 2007, will see nearly $40 million invested in the following activities:

Creation of a national standard of biosecurity best management practices for the hog industry targeting the containment or eradication of Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases (PCVAD);
Research projects and coordination of the reporting of research related to PCVAD and other emerging diseases within the Canadian hog herd; and
Establishment of long-term risk management solutions for the hog industry.
"I would like to thank Minister Gerry Ritz for his commitment to address swine health issues and working in partnership with our industry," said Canadian Swine Health Board Chair Florian Possberg. "The Canadian hog sector was dramatically impacted by Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases; this initiative will serve to further improve the capability of the industry to react swiftly to emerging animal health challenges."

Phase two follows a very successful phase one, which is nearing completion and included the creation of the Circovirus Inoculation Program (CIP). Through CIP, eligible producers received financial assistance towards the identification and mitigation of PCVAD to help off-set some of the costs of diagnostic fees and vaccines.

The federal government has worked closely with the hog industry through the Canadian Pork Council and the veterinary community to develop the program details for these initiatives.

"For our producers, there is the ever-present threat of foreign animal disease outbreak and present-day animal health challenges and today’s announcement responds to the urgent need to make sure the right tools are available to keep diseases from affecting the Canadian swine population," said Jurgen Preugschas, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council.

[mikey]

Thursday, April 02, 2009Print This Page
Boosting Agri-food Profitabilty and Innovation
CANADA - Ontario's agri-food sector will be more innovative, responsive and profitable as a result of a five-year, up to $300-million investment by Ontario and the Government of Canada under Growing Forward.



The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, today announced new Growing Forward programs for the sector. The federal-provincial agreement outlining details of the program in Ontario has been signed.

Industry participants were consulted extensively on which programs should be available under the Growing Forward initiative in Ontario. As a result, programming focuses on two areas: Best Practices and Innovation and Science. Best Practices helps improve performance in four key areas: environment and climate change; food safety and traceability; business development; and biosecurity. Innovation and science programs will encourage and support ongoing research and the commercialization of research.

"I am very proud we have reached an agreement with Ontario. For Ontario producers, this is truly a momentous occasion. Growing Forward programs will deliver real results for farmers and their families and place greater emphasis on profitability and innovation," said Gerry Ritz, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

"Growing Forward reflects the needs of our agri-food industry. It puts emphasis on building a profitable sector through investment in innovation, a flexible approach to meet individual business needs and more partnerships with industry," Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said.

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Friday, April 03, 2009Print This Page
Canadian Government Ignores Animal Welfare
OTTAWA, CANADA - A report released today by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) illustrates just how far behind Canada is of countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European Union.



All of these jurisdictions have invested millions of dollars in recent years to address animal welfare. In stark contrast, "Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) launches a five-year plan that basically ignores farm animal welfare", says the welfare group.

"The Minister of Agriculture has shown no interest in taking any leadership on animal welfare in Canada", states Shelagh MacDonald, CFHS Program Director. "It's rather unbelievable that the Canadian government is so out of step with the rest of the world on this issue. Throughout the Growing Forward consultation process, animal welfare has been ignored, resulting in a framework that includes no provision, strategy nor plan to fund animal welfare."

Other countries have comprehensive animal welfare strategies specifically aimed at ensuring high standards of animal welfare. They also have permanent and state-funded animal welfare advisory committees that provide counsel to government.

The Canadian government funded the formation and first two years of operation of the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC), which provides a national coordinated approach promoting responsible farm animal care in Canada. But it has refused to provide even $100,000 per year to support this rather modest animal care initiative.

Recently, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) urged Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and his government to take action on NFACC funding.

"At a minimum, the Canadian government needs to provide sustainable funding for NFACC through the Growing Forward initiative," explains Dr. Terry Whiting, Chair, CVMA Animal Welfare Committee. "This would aid in further development of livestock Codes of Practice and enhance Canadian livestock welfare."

There are also increasing market and trade implications of animal welfare around the world and Canada will be left behind if our government doesn't take action now.

"Canadians have repeatedly shown that they care about the welfare of animals", stated Ms. MacDonald. "They should be appalled to learn that Canada lags so far behind many other countries and that our Agriculture Minister has no plans to remedy this."