BC SPCA Farm Animal Welfare - Farm Animal Transportation

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Get on Board for Farm Animal Transport

Animals raised on Canadian farms are regularly transported on extremely long journeys, and current regulations do not adequately protect their welfare in transit.

1 Read about this urgent issue that affects of 600 million animals in Canada each year.

2 Sign an action letter to voice your support for the BC SPCA's recommendations.

3 Join our email appeal -- send an email to friends and family about this issue.

Materials:

Click to see our printable info sheet

Click to see our full report to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Click for a printable petition that you can use to collect signatures

Click here for a free download of the Adobe Acrobat Reader software required to view these documents.

The Issue

Stats at a Glance

Canadian Laws

Our Recommendations

The Issue

Throughout Canada each year, over 600 million farm animals are transported from farms to auction and slaughter. The public’s demand for cheap food has contributed to the centralization of the food processing industry and as a result, live animals are regularly transported for long distances from their home farms.

These animals are loaded into commercial semi-trailer trucks and transported for hours on end in the dead of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. There can be no question that the majority of these animals suffer en route.

Other developed nations have created sophisticated regulations to protect the welfare of farm animals during transport. Practices are particularly progressive in Europe, where public concern has led to legislation that better protects the welfare of animals both on farms and in transit.

In Canada, change has been slow, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) -- the federal regulatory body, which oversees and enforces animal welfare during transportation and slaughter -- has begun the process of revising its regulations. This may mean more humane transportation practices to reflect the values of Canadian citizens.

Below, you will learn more about this important issue and about our work to protect farm animals during transport.

Click here to find out how you can take action to help change the way farm animals are transported in Canada.

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Stats at a Glance*

Over 600 million farm animals are transported to slaughter in Canada each year, including:

- 580 million broiler (meat) chickens

- 32 million egg-laying hens and breeding birds

- 21 million pigs

- 19 million turkeys

- 3 million cattle

Between 2 and 3 million farm animals are found dead each year when trucks are unloaded at Canadian abattoirs, including an average of:

- 2 million broiler (meat) chickens

- 400 thousand egg-laying hens and breeding birds

- 20 thousand turkeys

- 17 thousand pigs

- 500 cattle

These figures result in an overall average mortality rate of 0.4% for animals during transport in Canada, including the following average rates by species:

- 1.3 % for egg-laying hens and breeding birds

- 0.4% for broiler (meat) chickens

- 0.1% for turkeys

- 0.08% for pigs

- 0.02% for cattle

Over 10 million farm animals are condemned from human consumption after arriving diseased or injured at abattoirs each year in Canada, and are euthanized on-site. This includes, on average:

- 8 million broiler (meat) chickens

- 3 million egg-laying hens and breeding birds

- 200 thousand turkeys

- 80 thousand pigs

- 8 thousand cattle

*All figures are summarized from data provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for the years 2001-2005 and pertain both to federally-registered slaughter establishments and to provincially-regulated slaughter establishments in which the CFIA provides inspection service on a contractual basis (i.e. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia)

Canadian Laws

While on-farm animal welfare falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces, the responsibility of ensuring the humane transportation of animals is borne by the the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The Animal Transportation Regulations referenced in the Health of Animals Act prohibit the transportation of ill or injured animals to prevent undue suffering. The Meat Inspection Act requires that farm animals be handled in a way that avoids distress or pain to the animal while at a slaughter establishment.

The CFIA is conducting its first review of the Animal Transportation Regulations in 30 years and has asked for submissions from a range of stakeholders. This report (Recommendations Regarding the Proposed Amendments to Transportation of Animals Regulations.) was prepared with support from the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada (AWFC) and was submitted in August, 2006 on behalf of the BC SPCA, Ontario SPCA, and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS).

At this time, the CFIA is reviewing stakeholder submissions and further rounds of consultation will be conducted subsequently. For further details regarding CFIA's consultation, visit their website.

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Our Recommendations

The following issues outline the BC SPCA's main areas of concern regarding the current transportation of farm animals. These issues and the associated recommendations are described in more detail in our full report to the CFIA.

1. Transport times

Presently in Canada, cattle and sheep are permitted to be enclosed in a truck for as long as 52 hours. For pigs, horses, rabbits and poultry, the maximum transportation time is 36 hours. These long days cause unnecessary suffering and result in death for many animals.

We have proposed that the maximum travel time be reduced to 24 hours for cattle and sheep, 16 hours for pigs and horses, and 12 hours for rabbits and poultry when specially equipped trucks that provide adequate care (e.g. bedding material and on-board watering systems) are used. These changes would bring Canada up to the standards required in other developed countries such as the UK, France, and Germany.

2. Overcrowding of animals

There are currently no regulations dictating standards for loading density of animals. We have recommended maximum densities in line with those required in Europe.

3. Transportation of sick and injured animals

We have requested that the regulations describe specific health conditions that would prevent afflicted animals from being transported unless for veterinary care. Such conditions would include: emaciation, broken bones, large wounds, lameness, etc. We also ask that animals who become ill or injured during the trip are specially handled when they reach their destination.

4. Loading and unloading of animals

Animals are often treated roughly at this stage of transport, with little care afforded to those who are ill or injured. We are calling for a prohibition of handling methods that cause pain, bruising, or bone-breakage, including the use of electric prods and the use of sticks or canes on sensitive areas such as the face, genitalia, and udder.

5. Ventilation of transport vehicles

In Canada, trucks are not required to have active ventilation systems on board. Severe suffering and death from heat exhaustion can result, even when the outside temperature is cold. We have asked that requirements for active ventilation be phased in, to keep Canada in step with European laws.

6. Trucker Training and Certification

At present, animal haulers are not required by law to be trained in animal handling. We have proposed that training and certification programs be made mandatory and that penalties, including the potential loss of a license, be established for those who repeatedly violate regulations.

7. Funding for the enforcement of transport regulations

No matter how progressive regulations are, they are relatively ineffective if sufficient funding is not available for enforcement. We have recommended that more funding be provided - either from within CFIA or from the Ministry of Agriculture - to facilitate increased inspector activity and enable sufficient enforcement of these regulations.

Sign an action letter to voice your support for the BC SPCA's recommendations.

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