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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
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| WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 | |
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TRANSPORT CHALLENGES FOR COMMERCIAL HAULERS |
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Senior
Staff Veterinarian USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services 4700 River Road, Unit 46 Riverdale, MD 20737 Tel: +1 301-734-3279 Fax: +1 301-734-7964 Timothy.R.Cordes@aphis.usda.gov Tim Cordes was raised with horses and has spent his life in one capacity or another with horses---as an owner, private practitioner and government veterinarian/epidemiologist. Tim received his DVM from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. He did an internship and residency in equine surgery at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Tim was an equine practitioner for sixteen years as a principal of an equine referral hospital and veterinarian for the United States Equestrian Team (USET) and Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). He has been with USDA APHIS Veterinary Services since 1994 as its Senior Staff Veterinarian for Equine Programs.
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Commercial Transportation of Equines to Slaughter
Timothy R. CORDES,
DVM
For many years, differences between Canadian and U.S. regulatory controls on the transportation of slaughter horses left Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) officials unable to effectively enforce the requirements of the Canadian federal Health of Animals Regulations with respect to slaughter horses originating in the U.S. In February 2002, the U.S. introduced federal regulations governing the commercial transportation of equines to slaughter. The United States (U.S.) Congressional mandate for the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the commercial transportation of horses to slaughter is described with particular attention given to the participation of the horse industry stakeholders in the development of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) final rule. The specific mandates of the national slaughter horse transport program were narrated, including inspection and shipping standards, space/time requirements, and utilization of owner/shipper certificates. USDA Investigation and Enforcement Services work to prosecute violators of the rule were described. In October 2002, the Chief Veterinary Officers of Canada and the USA signed an agreement of mutual assistance in enforcing regulations governing the transportation of slaughter horses between Canada and the USA. The existing program agreement with Canada and the pending program agreement with Mexico was updated. Various U.S. horse industry organization position statements on the transportation and processing of horses were compared and contrasted. A brief explanation was given of USDA-funded research, past and future, as it has and continues to shape the program. The presentation concluded with a review of the successes and failures of the program during the first year of implementation. [ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 479 kb |
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Terry WHITING, DVM, MSC Disease Control and Epidemiology Manitoba Agriculture and Food Veterinary Services Branch 545 University Crescent Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 5S6 Grew up on a mixed beef and hog farm near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario. Graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1984 he was in mixed practice in Sarnia and returned to the University of Guelph to complete a Masters in clinical medicine in 1988, dealing with respiratory disease of performance horses. He returned to general mixed practice for two years in Ontario, and joined the Federal Civil Service in 1990 in Wynyard Saskatchewan. Working with the federal government department of agriculture from 1990 to 1998 he held the positions of district veterinarian, veterinary operations manager and disease control specialist. During this time he developed an interest in the safe and humane transportation of animals and in the evolution of farm assurance programs. Terry was on the development committee for the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council Horse Code of Practice (1998), the Transport Code of Practice (2001) and the Swine Segregated Early Weaning Amendment (2003). Terry has authorship on several peer-reviewed papers relating to animal welfare and disease control.
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Transport of Swine: Challenges & Opportunities
Terry WHITING,
dvm, msc
Consumers may feel “cognitive dissonance” associated with their consumption of a livestock product. Non-consumers of animal products may suffer from the belief that other members of society are engaged in production systems they consider inhumane, environmentally damaging and unnecessary. The fact that the belief may be the result of a poorly informed conviction does not change the reality of the perception of injury. As both consumers and non-consumers of meat vote, policy makers in the future may adopt measures to ensure that livestock’s production systems change to maximise the net benefit to society as a whole not just to producers and consumers. Current industry awareness is focused on the consumers only. Competitive Constraints Trucking of livestock is a commercial enterprise and trucking companies need to make a profit. The pursuit of profit requires economical movement of large numbers of animals long distances in North America with the least cost in salaries, machinery usage and time. The international trend toward centralization of slaughter facilities, larger facilities and fewer of them will continue to contribute the humane transport challenges as the average hog-broiler-beef will travel further to slaughter. In western Canada many hog farmers have other interests including grain production. Partly as an economic efficiency, thousands of hogs are transported annually in grain trucks which are not designed for hauling animals. The suspension on these vehicles is very firm as the axel weight allowance greatly exceeds the possible vehicle carrying capacity for hogs. There also is no ability to adjust the ventilation for changing environmental conditions without purpose built livestock handing equipment. Good Neighbour Challenges The general trucking infrastructure is also a public concern as the roadways are shared with other vehicles. The concern for human health and safety has driven the axel weight laws, the maximal dimensions of vehicles, speed limits, and driver hours of service laws. The road weight restrictions are comprehensively enforced by transportation authorities in North America with significant fines imposed. Of all the regulations a commercial livestock operator must comply with, the load weight restrictions are often the most prominent in his or her mind, as frequent inspection of this feature of trucking is dependable. Challenges The consumer is not all of society and animal welfare improvements directed toward consumer reassurance are insufficient. Trucking is already one of the most highly regulated industries in North America and cost of compliance is largely borne by the industry. Cheap Food Policy in westernized society may be in conflict with articulated current moral norms. The financial competitiveness of livestock production and transport result in a real risk to animal welfare. A challenge becomes a problem only if it remains unanticipated and un-responded to. Profitability at all levels of the food production continuum is the best assurance of good animal welfare.
_____________________________ [ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 1337 kb |
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Professor, Poultry Management & Nutrition Department of Animal and Poultry Science University of Saskatchewan 51 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8 Canada Tel: +1 306-966-6600 Fax: +1 306-966-4561
Born and raised in rural Saskatchewan,
Canada
Currently a Professor in the Department
of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan.
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Unique Problems When
Transporting Poultry
Henry
“Hank” L. CLASSEN.
M.S., Ph.D.
Broiler transport to slaughter is an essential component of an intensive industry where large numbers of birds must be transported from diverse locations to a central slaughter facility. Although considerable research has been completed on live haul in more moderate climates, less work has been undertaken under more severe ambient conditions. To understand the western Canadian situation, our group monitored conventional transporters in 31 trips over an ambient temperature range of –27.2 to 21.9ºC. Data from winter trips demonstrated that passive ventilation on tarped transport trailers produced a heterogeneous distribution of temperate and humidity conditions that were less than optimum for some locations. Minimum temperatures colder than -5°C and maximum temperatures greater than 30°C were noted and at the same time, the air was frequently saturated with water vapor, thereby decreasing the bird's ability to withstand extreme temperature ranges and resulting in wet birds. The efficacy of the passive ventilation system in a tarped vehicle was largely dictated by the pressure distribution around the trailer and the openings around the envelope of the trailer. Despite best efforts by transporters, there was little control over the environmental conditions within the transport trailers. High temperatures were associated with an area directly behind the headboard while coldest temperatures were found near unintentional air inlets at the tarp edge near the rear and bottom of the load. In response to this initial study, an experimental transport trailer was developed to investigate the merits of active ventilation and supplemental heat when transporting broiler chickens. The trailer is able to transport approximately 4200 broiler chickens in 12 Anglia Autoflow modules (6 stacks of 2 modules each). Ventilation fans, propane heaters and an automatic controller work together to control the environmental conditions within the load. Nine comparisons with commercial passively ventilated vehicles under winter conditions indicate that the minimum temperature in the loads of birds on the prototype trailer can be effectively controlled by the heaters, independent of the ambient conditions. Further, the ventilation fans were able to effectively limit the maximum temperature within the load. Importantly the combination of added heat and ventilation kept relative humidity levels low in contrast to values near or at saturation on industry vehicles. Further testing is required to investigate the impact of this environmentally controlled vehicle on broiler welfare and meat quality, as well as the economics of broiler transportation. [ PDF of PowerPoint Presentation ] 2054 kb |
ANIMAL
TRANSPORTATION
ASSOCIATION
