A livestock guardian dog watches over a sheep flock.

Industry asked for input on sheep code updates

Producers and stakeholder survey helps inform decision on new sheep code

A producer survey has closed that will help inform the National Farm Animal Care Council’s update of the sheep code of practice. The council initiated an update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Sheep last year, although work didn’t get underway until April. The codes for beef cattle, horses, pigs […] Read more


File photo of a desk in Canada’s Senate. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Biosecurity bill draws questions from Senate ag committee

Some senators said the bill should cover everyone who enters a livestock operation because anyone can pose a biosecurity threat

Senate scrutiny has begun on Bill C-275, the private member's bill to amend the Health of Animals Act, which would increase fines for those who unlawfully enter livestock barns and processing facilities.


To become compliant with Proposition 12, hog producers must either incur the capital cost of installing more barn space, or reduce the number of sows housed in existing facilities.

Opinion: Animal welfare law impacts predictable, yet surprising

Glacier FarmMedia – California’s Proposition 12 has become a fascinating case study of voter-consumer behaviours as data emerges on the effects of its newly imposed animal welfare laws. More importantly, it’s a case study with ominous overtones for Canadian farmers. USDA economists recently released analysis tracking the early impacts of a law that sets minimum […] Read more

Photo: Nathaphat/iStock/Getty Images

Ontario court strikes down portions of ‘ag-gag’ anti-trespass law

Decision a "decisive victory," animal rights proponents say

Some sections of Ontario’s so-called ag gag law have been struck down by the province’s Superior Court. The court ruled April 2 that certain provisions within the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act 2020 violate the right of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights, declaring them to have no force or effect.  



An executive director with the CFIA says the bill in its current wording poses legal risks.

Biosecurity bill’s jurisdiction questioned

It’s a provincial, not federal issue says law professor

Glacier FarmMedia – A constitutional lawyer said a private member’s bill that would penalize those who illegally enter livestock barns is outside federal legislative jurisdiction. Jodi Lazare, associate professor at Dalhousie University’s law school, said the bill that purports to protect biosecurity is actually a trespass bill, and trespass is dealt with by provincial laws. […] Read more

Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow speaks Nov. 24, 2021 in the House of Commons. (Screengrab from supplied video)

Anti-activist bill back before Commons committee

Bill adds protections for biosecurity, farmers' mental health, Barlow says

A bill to create harsher penalties for unlawful entry onto farms and biosecure zones is back before the House of Commons after a previous iteration died on the order table in 2021. Conservative MP John Barlow brought forward Bill C-275, “an Act to amend the Health of Animals Act (biosecurity on farms),” as a private […] Read more