RESEARCH
The skinny on market cows
T
he odds that an animal will In 2012, “found dead” rates peaked drastically when suffer, be injured or die go there were major disruptions at cow slaughter plants. In up drastically whenever Eastern Canada, rates peaked in May and June when the a thin, old, weak cow is Levinoff-Colbex plant near Montreal closed. Western loaded, transported, unloaded, marCanadian numbers peaked in late fall and early winter keted, held for a week (or longer) at when the XL Lakeside plant was closed. Blocking the an auction mart while loads are assempipeline caused the system to back up quickly, and anibled, then reloaded, transported again, mal welfare was impacted, especially as cows continued and unloaded at a packer. So do the to come on to the market. odds that someone will capture that Cows should be culled before they become too thin disaster on their smartphone. In a world where nothing and weak to travel. Hire a reputable trucker, and load can be hidden, we’d better have nothing to hide. and transport high-risk cattle very carefully. Truckers Old, thin or weak cows have the hardest time copshould refuse to load cattle that they feel are at risk of ing with the stresses of marketing and transport, espebecoming down or dead in transit, and customers should cially in cold weather. Research conducted by Dr. Karen respect the truckers’ professional judgment. Order buySchwartzkopf-Genswein at AAFC Lethbridge (pubers, dealers, auction marts and others who are gathering lished in the October 2012 JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE) and temporarily housing and assembling loads of cows need to ensure that the animals in their care have enough showed that Canadian market cows are 13 times as likely space, feed, water and bedding and shelter from the to become downers or die in transit compared to fat catwind. The price signals, policies and expectations that tle. This is why beef cattle industry groups, farm animal packers pass down through the production chain to their care associations, and provincial and federal animal welsuppliers also have a considerable influence on the qualfare enforcement agencies continue to emphasize proper ity and condition of cattle they receive. cow feeding, management and marketing decisions at all Communicating about market cow welfare is not levels of the industry. Is this message sinking in? new. Cancer eye is a case in point. Cow carcass grades have In Western Canada, the rate of candeclined in recent years. The percer eye condemnations in federally centage of cows grading D3 (defiThin cows are weak, inspected packing plants used to cient muscling) has increased from be 26 times higher than it is now. It 13 per cent (in 1999-2002) to 36 and at very high risk has always been lower in the East, per cent in 2009-12. The proporbut it has virtually disappeared tion of cows grading D1 (excellent of becoming down or there, too. Industry communicamuscling) fell from 25 per cent to dead in transit. Cattle tion, packer price signals and poliless than one per cent over the same cies, and regulatory enforcement time period. with a BCS of 1 should all played a part in that decline. But There are a couple of reasons the most important factor was a for this. High feed costs and poor not be transported lot of individual producers decidfeed conversion rates can make it ing that shipping severe cancer eye difficult to economically improve cows was not the right thing to do, and their neighbours the condition of cull cows prior to slaughter. On top of agreed. this, the slow U.S. economy has increased demand for Marketing old, thin, weak cows is not the right thing ground beef. As a result, the price spread between betterto do, either. quality D1/D2 and D3 carcasses has narrowed due to Visit www.beefresearch.ca for more information high demand for lean trim for grinding. D3 cows may not be a welfare concern, but extremely about Beef Cattle Research Council activities funded thin cows are. Thin cows are weak, and at very high risk through the national checkoff. of becoming down or dead in transit. Cattle with a body The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the Canadian condition score of 1 (on a 5-point scale) should not be Cattlemen’s Association and Agriculture and Agri-Food transported. Those with a body condition score of 2 can Canada to advance research and technology transfer be transported short distances, if they are segregated. supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be recExtremely thin, weak cattle are also at much higher ognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high-quality risk of dying after they are unloaded at the packing plant, beef, cattle and genetics. but before they can be slaughtered. These cattle are con— Reynold Bergen demned and do not enter the human food chain. As a percentage of cows slaughtered, the rates of cattle that Reynold Bergen is the science director for the Beef Cattle were “found dead” at federally inspected packing plants Research Council. A portion of the national checkoff is has increased between 1999-02 and 2009-13 in both directed to the BCRC to fund research and development activities to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Western (0.042 to 0.079 per cent) and Eastern Canada Canada’s beef industry. (0.149 to 0.193 per cent).
30 CATTLEMEN / APRIL 2013
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