Quality animal care and welfare are priorities for the livestock industry. Consumers and retailers demand assurance that the food they purchase and consume has been raised in a humane manner. Every step in the production process is critical for the pork industry to continue to provide nutritious, high quality pork products.

Animal care and welfare doesn’t end at the farmgate. Improper handling by transporters can detrimentally affect the health of animals being transported and ultimately the quality of the end product. Truckers are a critical link in the production process since losses resulting from inadequate care or animal handling, and unsafe equipment can cost the industry many millions of dollars each year. Healthy, unstressed animals are essential to successful pork production.

Harvey Wagner, Sask Pork’s Producer Services Manager has delivered the Trucker Quality Assurance® program to more than 600 provincial pork producers and haulers over the past year. Says Wagner, “The transportation process is very stressful for livestock and the truckers’ approach to animal handling makes all the difference!”

Source: Discover Moose Jaw