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Tag Archives animal care

(File photo)
Livestock, Markets

‘Shocking’ farm videos barred at egg-price antitrust trial in Chicago

Food firms sought to show animal care claims not genuine

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Reuters — A U.S. judge has barred Kraft, Kellogg and other major food producers from showing what the court called “shocking” and “heart-wrenching” videos of conditions inside certain hen houses at an upcoming antitrust trial against egg producers and marketers. In a ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger in Chicago said the risk […] Read more
(Sierrarat/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Machinery

Animal care council won’t update livestock transport code of practice

NFACC says 'no further action' pending

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After over four years’ publicly funded work to develop an updated national code of practice for livestock transport for Canada, the National Farm Animal Care Council has called a halt. In an information update dated May 1, NFACC said its board has now decided “no further action will be taken” by the council to update […] Read more
Cows on a Grunthal, Man. dairy farm. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Geralyn Wichers)
Livestock

Continuous tie-stall housing to be phased out in new dairy code of practice

Producer, animal welfare groups praise new code; some drawbacks were noted

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New guidelines for dairy cattle care will improve animal welfare while also potentially increasing farm productivity, Dairy Farmers of Canada says. “I think that we’ve come to a very solid revised code,” David Wiens, DFC’s vice-president, said in an interview. The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) on Thursday released its revised Code of Practice […] Read more
Reg Schellenberg. (Schellenberg family photo via Canadian Cattlemen)
Livestock

Canadian Cattle Association president Reg Schellenberg dies

Saskatchewan rancher had led CCA since March

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Updated, Dec. 7 — Western Saskatchewan rancher Reg Schellenberg, who had led the national organization representing Canada’s beef cattle producers since March this year, died suddenly Friday at age 63. The Canadian Cattle Association reported Schellenberg’s death in a release Saturday, adding that the association’s current vice-president, rancher Nathan Phinney of Sackville, N.B., will now […] Read more
A small room off the milkhouse, encompassing the front of the tank, helps to limit contact with the milk truck driver at the Herrema farm at Uxbridge, northeast of Toronto. (Gerrit Herrema photo)
Livestock, Machinery

Dairy sector shuts down most visits from off-farm providers

In agriculture, dairy farms are among those most called-on by outside services

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New additions to Gerrit Herrema’s dairy barn have made it easier for his family to abide by recent directions to avoid contact with milk truck drivers to reduce COVID-19’s spread. “We have boot washes and other biosecurity measures in the barn. We need to take these measures in order to minimize the damage,” said Herrema, […] Read more
Update your emergency plan and consider a wide range of ‘what-if’ scenarios, says Rebecca Husted, an expert in emergency planning for livestock. (Supplied photo)
Livestock

Ahead of any emergency, plan for the worst

Disaster planning is not a pleasant task but it's vital that producers have a plan, expert says

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Identify your resources and review your plan, says an expert in emergency planning for livestock. The COVID-19 pandemic is a very different type of emergency, said Rebecca Husted, a teacher of technical large animal emergency rescue. “Most disasters like fires and floods have people moving around, but in COVID-19, people are not supposed to move […] Read more
(iStock photo)
Livestock

Talk to family, friends about farming

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This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at […] Read more
(Video screengrab for MercyForAnimals.org)
Livestock

Workers fired following chicken abuse video

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CNS Canada — A British Columbia company tied to nationally broadcast footage of livestock abuse has laid off five workers, according to a statement from the organization Tuesday. The animal rights and vegan advocacy group responsible for capturing the video says that’s not enough, and is pursuing legal action. Employees at a Vancouver-area chicken farm […] Read more
Animal welfare research is becoming about the emotional state of the animal rather than its health, Dr. Ed Pajor says. (John Greig photo)
Livestock

Greig: Animal welfare research focusing more on emotional states

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Animal welfare research is moving beyond identifying what keeps an animal healthy, to focus more on their state of being and their happiness. For years, farmers have justified the way they manage and house animals based on objective measures of their health: disease prevalence, growth rates and feed consumption. Consumer research, however, shows that’s not […] Read more

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