PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
FEBRUARY 2020
New transportation regulations are coming into force on February 20 but will focus on compliance through education and awareness. (Photo credit: pxhere.com)
Producers get temporary reprieve from new transport regulations Manitoba cattle producers are relieved the federal government will not actively enforce its new livestock transport regulations for the next two years, but worry what will happen once they are fully implemented. Producers fear shorter maximum hours for transporting animals, which the new rules require, will seriously affect cattle shipments to Eastern Canada and undermine animal welfare. “It’s going to be a huge, huge disruption for us,” said Rick Wright, Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association administrator. “There’s no science behind what they’re doing here and it’s going to disrupt things big time.” The beef industry will use the extra time to conduct scientific research into whether shorter hauling times and longer rest stops actually benefit cattle. So far, that seems uncertain, said Dr. Reynold Bergen of the Beef Cattle Research Council in Calgary. “The science we have available is suggesting that there’s not a whole huge benefit to rest stops,” Bergen said. The amendments to federal regulations, announced last year, decrease the allowable time between stops while lengthening required rest periods for transported livestock. Cattle must now spend no more than 36 hours on a trailer before stopping for feed, water and rest. The old rules allowed for 48 hours, with additional flex time if the load was within four hours of its destination, making the absolute maximum time 52 hours. The previous mandatory layover time at rest stops
was five hours. It is now eight hours. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says the reason for the changes centres around animal welfare. “The amended regulations contain outcome-based requirements to ensure that animals are not likely to suffer (from exhaustion, dehydration, weather or other conditions), be injured or die,” an agency spokesperson told Cattle Country in an e-mail. “The CFIA has the discretion to appropriately enforce these outcome-based requirements to prevent and act on animal welfare situations.” The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the two-year enforcement delay in December after producers and the industry expressed widespread concern about the effect of the new requirements on animals and their business. It’s the new 36-hour rule that concerns Manitoba producers most. An estimated 60 per cent of live cattle leaving Manitoba travel east, most of them headed to feedlots in Ontario and Quebec. There is a rest stop at Thunder Bay, Ontario where cattle can be unloaded, fed, watered and rested. But livestock dealers say that of the 160,000 cattle that went through Thunder Bay in 2018, fewer than 60,000 stopped there. The rest rolled through because the old 48-hour rule didn’t require them to stop. Now most will have to stop to unload, feed, water and reload, all of which stresses animals, Wright said. Even worse, the Thunder Bay station isn’t large enough to accommodate the additional surge in cattle, said Wright. “We can’t cram all the cattle into Thunder Bay at the
peak times that they’re going to go. At peak times, Thunder Bay’s full now, even before the new rules,” he said. “It’s going to be a bottleneck. If you don’t book your spot in, there’s going to be no room in the hotel when you get there. It’s as simple as that.” Wright predicted Eastern buyers will also bid lower for cattle because delays cost money. The rules are expected to have limited effect on shipments going west. Most can cross the Prairies within the required time limits. CFIA says the new regulations will still come into force February 20, 2020 as previously planned. But the agency will focus on compliance through education and awareness during a two-year transition period. CFIA has formed two working groups, one for beef and the other for dairy and veal, to “interpret and clarify any guidance needed on the regulations, identify issues and discuss possible solutions,” the spokesperson said. The two-year pause affects only cattle, not pigs, poultry or other livestock. Tom Teichroeb, Manitoba Beef Producers president, called the delay “really positive” and hoped CFIA will consider scientific evidence about how long-distance transportation really does affect cattle. “Let’s revisit this before we disrupt commerce in the industry.” The old regulations on humane transport of animals were last changed in 1977. In 2013, CFIA issued a preproposal about revamping the rules. The agency initially suggested 28 continuous hours as the maximum time on the truck but the industry called the idea impractical. Page 4
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