New pig code will add production expense predicts one of its developers

Friday, March 7, 2014

by MATT MCINTOSH

The final round of amendments are complete and Canada now has new Codes of Practice for the care and handling of pigs.

But one of those involved in its development warns that grocery stores and consumers are going to have to step up to the plate, and be willing to “shell out an extra nickel or dime” for pork that is produced in a more humane and respectful way.

“Consumers should continue to support the changes they have been driving forward,” says Curtiss Littlejohn, one of the four producer representatives involved in the development of the Code.

The National Farm Animal Care Council and the Canadian Pork Council announced the publication of the Code Thursday. The changes to the Code address, among other things, pig housing, environmental enrichment and the use of anesthesia.

The Code replaces one developed in 1993 and according to a press release issued by both organizations, the changes reflect shifting public attitudes on animal welfare as well as provide a reasonable amount of time for producers to make the necessary changes on their operations.

Its development, which began in 2010, has been the subject of intense debate and public scrutiny, prompting more than 4,700 responses when a draft was released for public comment last summer.

“The updated Code is an opportunity for all stakeholders to work towards better animal welfare practices,” says John deBruyn, board member for Ontario Pork. “Farmers have the time to make changes, and consumers and retailers need to support them in that.”

Jackie Wepruk, general manager of the National Farm Animal Care Council, says the Code was amended in a way that allowed producers a lot of flexibility. “The Code development committee made it so the changes were not unreasonably demanding on farmers,” she says.

Barbara Cartwright, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, called the new Code “a watershed moment in Canada” in a press release issued Thursday. Cartwright’s organization was one of a wide array of stakeholders involved in creating the updated Code, including representatives from the farming community, processors, transporters, veterinarians and government representatives.

Topping the list of amendments in both the draft and final document were changes to housing systems. The updated Code – which can be accessed here http://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/pigs – says that all renovated and new operations will, as of July 1 of this year, be required to house sows and mated gilts in group pens. Individual stalls, however, “can still be used “up to 28 days after the date of last breeding, and an additional period of up to 7 days is permitted to manage grouping.”

The new Code also says that by July of 2024, all mated gilts and sows have to have their own pen, live in groups, or at the very least, be housed in stalls that are spacious enough for them to turn around and exercise.

Additionally, the updated Code dictates a number of different methods designed to enhance the social and physical environment of pigs, such as including suspended toys and sawdust inside pens. It also says that any castration performed after the pig is ten days old needs to be done using anesthetic, and lists the acceptable ways to euthanize pigs of various sizes.

The recommendations feature some significant adjustments to those presented in last year’s draft. The draft, for example, had presented group housing for all mated gilts and sows as the only option available for producers after 2024. The final document has also reduced the length of time during which castration can be performed without the use of anesthetic by four days.

Littlejohn says enforcing the Code could be done on the provincial level since it would have legal backing in provinces that combine the Code’s guidelines with their own animal health laws.

Geoff Urton, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies representative to the National Farm Animal Care Council, also says that provincial law plays a role. “The Codes of Practice are used in provincial law enforcement when investigators are responding to complaints of cruelty and will now be mandatory in the Canadian Pork Council’s Animal Care Assessment program,” he says.

In an interview last year, however, Urton noted farm animal Codes of Practice may not be referenced in Ontario’s animal welfare legislation. But the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does use them, he said.

When asked about how the Code will be enforced in Ontario or if Ontario Pork will have anything to do with enforcement, deBruyn says, “the topic hasn’t really been discussed.”

Last November, Ontario Pork established an agreement with the Society to work together to investigate complaints of the treatment of pigs on farms.  

“Ontario Pork will visit a swine farm in conjunction with Ontario SPCA Officers for the purpose of investigating any complaints or allegations of inadequate animal care,” Ontario Pork’s Nov. 5 news release said. BF

– with files from BETTER FARMING STAFF