The Certified Livestock Transporter Training Program was originally developed by the Alberta Farm Animal Care Association with widespread livestock industry consultation.

The roots of the program can be traced back to a 1994 Alberta livestock industry survey which identified the need for standardized training for those involved in transporting live animals.

Program Coordinator Tim O'Byrne notes the program's core manual contains every regulation and standard operating procedure a trucker would need to know to haul animals provincially, nationally or internationally and there are separate modules for beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, poultry, horses and sheep.

Tim O'Byrne-Alberta Farm Animal Care Association

With the hog module we contacted National Pork Board down in the United States and we got permission to integrate their TQA, Trucker Quality Assurance program into the CLT program so that transporters in Canada that require the National Pork Board TQA certification in order to haul hogs from Canada into U.S. packing plants, so they can sit down and get that all in one deal.

And then, with the hog component, we added all the Canadian related information that they're going to need to haul hogs in Canada.

So not only do they have the core manual, everything they need to know about hauling livestock in North America, then they have the TQA and they'll be certified when they're done that and then they have everything they need to know about hauling hogs in Canada as well.

The CLT program has been available for several months now and the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board recently began offering the program to truckers in that province.

O'Byrne notes the program is generating a lot of excitement and it's just beginning to expand.