Feds invest in livestock welfare

October 13, 2017, Guelph, Ont. – The federal government today announced a $1.31 million investment in poultry welfare and other livestock initiatives. 

Speaking from the Arkell Research Centre, Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield announced Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada was commiting the money to the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC).

Its stated goals are to help ensure the safe transportation of livestock, develop emergency management tools for the livestock industry and improve animal care assessments.

The investment will be divided between four projects, including:

• Up to $223,929 to develop a new livestock transport on-line certification program that will simplify, standardize and provide an opportunity for truckers, shippers and receivers to more easily access the training necessary to improve handling practices.
• Up to $160,713 to update the Transportation Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals during transport.
• Up to $813,200 to develop an emergency management plan for the Canadian livestock industry to help mitigate, to respond to, and to recover from major hazard emergencies.
• Up to $112,180 to revise the Chicken Farmers of Canada’s (CFC) animal care assessment program to meet the new Code of Practice for hatching eggs, breeders, chickens and turkeys. The project will strengthen the poultry industry’s capacity to respond to ever increasing demand by markets to demonstrate effective animal care standards.