Council Offers Advice on Scientific Committee Report Comments

CANADA - The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) is encouraging those who provide comments on a proposed updated Canadian Pig Code of Practice to consider the Scientific Committee report, writes Bruce Cochrane.
calendar icon 21 June 2013
clock icon 3 minute read

NFACC released a draft updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs in Canada on 1 June, triggering a 60-day public comment period.

NFACC general manager, Jackie Wepruk, says the Code of Practice has several key components.

Jackie Wepruk - National Farm Animal Care Council

One important component is our scientific committee which reviews research on priority welfare issues and that scientific committee report really looks at what the science says from a variety of measures of animal welfare so from animal health measures of animal welfare, behavioral measures of welfare as well as effective states as well, so the feeling of pain, fear, frustration, that sort of thing.

When the Scientific Committee reviews the priority welfare issues they create a report and that report provides the Code Development Committee with the conclusions around, what do we know from a scientific point of view.

That report is also peer reviewed so that we know that it has a good firm scientific foundation.
The Code Development Committee uses that report as a foundation for their discussions around what should the code actually contain.

We appreciate that the Scientific Committee report is a fairly long report but it is important to, when looking at the code of practice particularly as it's in its public comment period, to also side by side look at the Scientific Committee report and so that you can better understand the deliberations that the Code Development Committee undertook.

Wepruk notes the public comment period ends on 3 August, after which the Code Development Committee will make any necessary adjustments and a new code is expected to be in place by year's end.

To view the proposed updated Pig Code of Practice and the accompanying Scientific Committee report or to submit comments, visit the National Farm Animal Care Council web site at NFACC.Ca.

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