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ANIMAL CARE: A RESPONSIBILITY
We owe a lot to animals: they provide us with important foods, natural clothing
materials, organic fertilizers, medicines, and many other products. They
contribute in countless ways to the quality of life we enjoy.
Like all living things, we are part of nature and depend on plants and other
animals for our own survival. But we are also conscious of ethical concerns: we
use animals, we must not abuse them.
To provide the best possible care for their animals, Canadian farmers have
adopted new housing and husbandry methods, and established responsible Codes of
Practice. They also support research, to improve our understanding of farm
animals and their needs.
EVALUATING ANIMAL CARE
According to Dr. Frank Hurnik, Professor of Animal and Poultry Science, University of
Guelph, the welfare of farm animals is best understood in terms of a series of general
principles of responsible animal care.
These principles include:
- adequate air, water, and feed - according to the biological requirements of each species;
- safe housing and sufficient space to prevent injuries and ensure normal health and growth;
- appropriate complexity of the environmentto prevent either deprivation or fear;
- regular (daily) supervision and effective health care, to prevent illness and initiate prompt assistance when required;
- sensible handling through all stages of the animals’ lives, to avoid unnecessary suffering.
The challenge is complex because husbandry methods which improve some aspects of animal
welfare may diminish others.
For example:
Caging laying hens certainly restricts their freedom of movement. However, with just a few
hens in each cage, every bird receives clean water and a nutritionally well-balanced diet.
Raised cages also allow wastes to fall through, maintaining cleanliness for both birds and
eggs.
A clean floor, moderate group sizes, and easier detection of early signs of disease in
properly designed cages all help to minimize the spread of infectious diseases or
parasites among laying hens, reducing the need for antibiotics to control health problems.
But we are still left with questions: e.g. how important is it - to a hen - to build nests
and scratch for bugs in a barnyard?
Animal scientists are working to develop scientific criteria for evaluating
the relative importance of each of these factors - for the animals.
Of course, a full assessment of alternate housing systems must also consider
their impact on the working conditions and economic viability of farmers, the
quality and affordability of food for consumers and environmental protection.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HOUSING
With the exception of grazing beef cattle (and some goats and sheep) most Canadian farm
animals are now raised some form of controlled housing. Modern housing protects the
animals from adverse weather, predators, accidental injuries, insects and parasites, and
many diseases. It also allows farmers to monitor animal health and provide proper
nutrition, clean water, sanitation, and regular care. From an animal-health perspective,
this is far superior to husbandry methods of the past.
For example:
Pigs kept outdoors through the summer wallowed in mud to protect their sensitive skin from
heat and biting insects. But they are instinctively clean animals and enjoy resting on
clean floors or with dry bedding - as anyone visiting a modern pig barn will see.
Chickens raised for meat ("broilers") are kept for much shorter periods than
laying hens. Cages are not needed or used for broiler chickens - whether they are called
"free range" or not. But Canadian weather makes properly designed protective
housing a necessity. Broiler chickens are raised in specially-built barns where
temperature, humidity, light and ventilation are carefully controlled. The floor is
covered with a soft bedding of straw or woodchips and the chickens can move around freely
inside the barn. Still, each group tends to "stake out" its own area, generally
a few square metres.
PROTECTING YOUNG ANIMALS
Many new husbandry methods have been introduced to improve the care of young animals.
For example:
Sows are now usually confined in special stalls to give birth. These stalls are used only
for short periods and are designed to prevent a common problem - the unintentional
crushing of young piglets when sows lie down.
Many Canadian producers now raise veal calves in individual stalls - not to restrict
exercise and "tenderize" the meat, as some have suggested, but because up until
now this has been found to be the most practical way to assure good nutrition, hygiene,
and health for each individual calf.
Most poultry today are hatched in specially designed incubators which provide both
protection and optimum conditions for developing embryos. Newly hatched birds are raised
in heated units called "brooders", and fed carefully-balanced feeds to ensure
that they get the best start possible.
NEW METHODS MINIMIZE STRESS
Canadian beef cattle spend most of their lives on the open range, and so must be
marked for identification. This generally requires branding or eartags. Instead
of being roped and thrown to the ground (like in the movies), calves are now
usually led through well-designed chutes to be vaccinated or receive other
treatments at the same time. New micro-chip technology can virtually eliminate
pain and may one day replace branding entirely.
Many cattle breeds are now naturally hornless ("polled"). For those
which still must be dehorned (to prevent animals from injuring each other),
stress is reduced by doing this soon after they are born, before horns develop.
If animals must be neutered, this is also best done when animals are young.
Trimming beaks of laying hens and docking tails of young pigs or lambs are
procedures done to prevent animals from harming each other, or for health
reasons. Continu-ing research, however, may find other solutions. For example:
tail-biting may result because pigs are "bored" in husbandry systems
which provide for all their physical needs with little effort. Some farmers find
that these problems are reduced when rubber tires or other "toys" are
provided in pig pens. Others have found that making changes to pig diets can
help reduce tail-biting.
VETERINARY MEDICINE
Just as vaccines protect humans from smallpox, polio and other diseases,
veterinary vaccines now prevent many diseases which once caused considerable
animal suffering. Together with improved housing, nutrition, and modern
husbandry methods, vaccines and other veterinary products permit farmers to
raise healthier, more productive animals.
Despite these advances, farm animals (like people) still sometimes get sick. And like
people, they can now often be quickly cured with appropriate antibiotics or other
medications. As we all know, medicines are expensive.
They are used only when necessary, under strict guidelines and withdrawal schedules, to
assure the wholesomeness of the marketed product. Farmers know that medications can never
substitute for good farm management and husbandry practices.
STANDARDS
Government and industry standards control the production, marketing, transportation
and processing of livestock and poultry. Some standards are legislated. These
include the Meat Inspection Act (with Part III incorporating provisions of the
Humane Slaughter of Food Animals Act), the Health of Animals Act, and animal-protection
provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code.
Legislation, however, can only set minimum standards and may quickly become
outdated. To meet this challenge, guidelines for the care and handling of farm
animals have been set out in "Recommended Codes of Practice." The
Codes are developed by the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council at the request of
producers, in cooperation with the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS).
They are reviewed and revised on a timely-basis. The Codes are voluntary, but
farmers have a strong incentive to follow them: well kept animals are healthier
and healthier animals are more productive. Farmers who fail to provide adequate
housing, nutrition and care for their animals do not remain in business very
long.
According to Joy Ripley, Chairman of the CFHS Farm Animal Welfare Committee:
"The voluntary Codes of Practice have, indeed, had a positive effect on the
care and handling of farm animals in Canada. The Canadian Federation of Humane
Societies is proud of its role in development of the Codes."
The Codes are not considered complete or "perfect"; compromises
were required of all who participated. According to Joy Ripley, the Codes
"are the start of dialogues which will continue in the years ahead. In the
light of new scientific discoveries and changing economic conditions, the Codes
must be re-examined and updated as a matter of course, as we continue to seek
achievable animal welfare objectives through cooperation and consultation."
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
In Canada, researchers study different housing and management systems for laying
hens, veal calves and other animals, so improvements can continue to be based on
sound scientific knowledge, rather than perceptions of what we think animals
require. As Oxford biologist Marian Stamp Dawkins has said, human sentiments
alone do not always provide good criteria for animal welfare. We must learn more
about the real needs of animals, which may differ for each species. It would
certainly be a mistake to assess the welfare of bats by asking ‘how would you
like to sleep handing upside down in a damp, dark cave!’
FARMERS: COMMITTED TO ANIMAL CARE
Raising animals is a full-time job: seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Only someone
who genuinely cares about animals and likes working with them can succeed. Canadian
farmers are committed to developing and maintaining animal-care standards which
are internationally recognized as models of responsible husbandry.
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