CPC Expects to Unveil a New Animal Welfare Audit in 2004

Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1445

The Canadian Pork Council expects to have a new system in place this year that will assist Canadian swine producers in documenting their on farm animal welfare protocols.

The first draft of a new animal welfare audit is currently in the hands of a cross section of Canadian swine producers for initial evaluation.

The proposal was developed by the Animal Care Working Group, a committee made up of representatives of industry, government and academia, and is designed to operate along the lines of the pork industry's on farm food safety program.

Canadian Pork Council Executive Associate Catherine Skovil says the intent is to create a tool that will help producers develop auditable animal care protocols.

"Up to now Canadian producers have relied on the codes of practice for the care and handling of pigs but, as with other initiatives in food safety and environment, they realized they needed something more to demonstrate what it was they were doing on farm.

We've been working through this working group to develop an auditable approach for animal care so that producers can use the document to develop their own practices and procedures on their own farm.

The idea right now is to use the existing CQA, or our on farm food safety program, delivery system because that's already set up.

That gives us a mechanism to get this program out to producers in a timely and a cost effective way.

We do see it, at this point, as being a separate module so that you have a food safety module and an animal care module".

Skovil says the working group will begin its review of producer evaluations later this month. She says, once the appropriate modifications have been made, additional stakeholders will be invited to review the updated draft and submit their comments.

She says the objective is to have something out in the field that producers will be able to make use of in 2004.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.