Farm animal welfare
Other farm animal welfare issues in Canada
- Pigs: Sow Stalls
- Cows: Cows raised for beef
- Cows: Veal Stalls
- Ducks: Foie Gras
- Farm animal transport
Pigs: Around 20 million pigs are slaughtered in Canada each year
SOW STALLS
Female breeding pigs (sows) are kept individually on hard floors in metal barred "gestation" stalls that measure approximately 2 ft by 7 ft. They are unable to take more than one step or turn around throughout their four month pregnancy. Before giving birth, the sows are moved to an equally restrictive "farrowing" stall. After 10 to 21 days of nursing, their piglets are removed, and the process is repeated all over again. This is industrial pig breeding. The mother pigs are kept in these small, barren pens until their productivity wanes, typically between 24 and 30 months.
The confined space is extremely detrimental to the pig's welfare. Deprived of all opportunities to behave naturally, these social and intelligent animals show their frustration by biting the bars of the stall and attempting to root in the concrete floor. They also frequently suffer from lameness, foot injuries and painful abrasions.
The piglets are castrated, have their tails cut off and their teeth clipped – all without anaesthetic. Pigs raised for meat are typically kept in small, crowded pens on bare concrete or slatted floors without bedding materials. They are unable to carry out their natural behaviours such as rooting, foraging and exploring.
Breeding and raising pigs doesn't have to be so cruel. Many countries and companies are putting animal welfare first and switching to group housing systems. Sow stalls will be phased-out of the European Union by 2013 and are banned or scheduled to be phased-out in Tasmania, the Philippines and a growing number of US states (Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Maine, Colorado and California). And some companies aren't waiting for legislative bans – Smithfields, the world's largest pork producer and processor pledged to end its use of individual sow stalls by 2017. Soon after their announcement, the largest pork producer in Canada, Maple Leaf Foods followed suit. In Australia, the supermarket chain, Coles is pledging to be "sow stall free" by 2014.
What you can do Ask restaurants to switch to crate-free pork and ask grocery stores to sell the more humane alternative. Encourage people to watch Pig Business www.pigbusiness.co.uk, an investigative documentary about the impacts of intensive pork production on the animals’ welfare, the environment, human health and rural livelihoods. While the documentary focuses on the impact of Smithfields in the U.S. and Poland, we have the same production methods and problems in Canada.
Cows: Over 3 million cattle are slaughtered every year in Canada
COWS RAISED FOR BEEF
Cows raised for beef are routinely castrated and dehorned without anaesthetic to prevent injuries even though the aggressive behaviour often results from overcrowding in barren enclosures. Beef cattle are sent to feedlots to be fattened on an unnatural grain diet with thousands of others in grassless, manure-laden outdoor enclosures. Some feedlots in Canada have more than 40,000 beef cattle at once.
Male dairy calves that are of little use to the dairy industry are separated from their mothers at birth. While some are housed in group pens, the vast majority are housed individually in stalls, commonly known as "veal crates". These crates are permitted to be so narrow (the code of practice recommends 70-80 cm) that the animal is soon unable to turn around.
In 2009, 241,822 calves were slaughtered, typically at 5-7 months of age, at federally-inspected slaughterhouses in Canada. There are three types of veal produced here: 1. bob veal (slaughtered when the calves are just a few days old), 2. grain-fed veal (after 6 weeks, they are fed a high-protein diet of corn) or 3. milk-fed veal (fed milk-formula, leads to iron deficiency and anaemia resulting in "white veal"). The lack of exercise keeps their flesh tender.
Other countries are phasing out this cruel practice – it's time for Canada to follow! Fortunately governments around the world are phasing-out veal stalls. Veal stalls were phased out of all European Union member countries as of 2007 and Arizona, Colorado, California, Oregon, Maine and Michigan have passed laws which will see veal crates phased out in the near future. Two of the largest American veal producers, Strauss Veal and Marcho Farms, have voluntarily committed to converting to group housing within three years. Following this announcement, the American Veal Association (AVA) passed a resolution encouraging all of its members to phase out veal stalls and convert to group housing by 2017.
In 2009, WSPA and other animal welfare groups in Canada sent a joint letter to the Ontario Veal Association encouraging them to follow the lead of their American counterparts. We have yet to hear a response.
What you can do Don’t buy or eat veal and ask restaurants to stop serving it. Encourage the Ontario Veal Association to commit to phasing out veal stalls - email: info@ontarioveal.on.ca
Foie Gras: Half a million ducks are slaughtered every year in Canada
Foie gras (the French word for "fatty liver") is made from the fattened liver of a duck or goose. It is produced by force-feeding the birds through a pipe that is inserted down their throats. The confined birds are fed up to a third of their body weight in food per day causing their livers to expand to 10 times their normal size. The birds suffer from the immense stress and injuries from force feeding and intensive confinement. Some birds die before slaughter from ruptured internal organs and asphyxiation when the food becomes impacted in their throats and digestive systems.
The production of foie gras has been banned in Israel, Argentina and several European countries. The production and sale of foie gras will be phased-out of California by 2012.
For more information download the BC SPCA's report, The Scientific Case Against Foie Gras, Prepared by Prof. Ian Duncan, an international poultry welfare expert.
What you can do Ask chefs and restaurants to stop serving foie gras. Give them a copy of the BC SPCA’s report along with a personalized letter. You can use the BC SPCA’s letter as a template. Be sure to send WSPA a copy of your letter so we know which restaurants have been approached by concerned citizens. Please also keep us informed of the chef or restaurant owner’s response.
Transport
Transport can be extremely stressful for farm animals as they are forced to cope with a number of unnatural changes to their environment. Deprivation of food and water, overcrowding, lack of opportunities for rest and prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold are commonly cited animal welfare concerns. Research shows that the level of suffering increases directly with the length of the journey endured. Poor and abusive handling of animals during loading and unloading also increases animal stress and suffering during transport. Despite this, most farm animals are transported multiple times throughout their short lives, and often over long distances across provincial and national borders for fattening and slaughter.
Canada allows farm animals to be transported on long, gruelling journeys without food, water and rest. Regulations under the Health of Animals Act allow pigs, horses and poultry to be transported up to 36 hours without food, water and being unloaded to rest. Cattle, sheep and goats can be transported up to 52 hours. In Europe, most species are not permitted to be transported more than 8 hours. WSPA is advocating for better regulations to ensure farm animals are transported humanely.
What you can do Read our report, Curb the Cruelty: Canada’s farm animal transport system in need of repair and ask your MP to support better regulation and enforcement: www.wspa.ca/curbthecruelty.
