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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
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| MONDAY - MAY 11, 2009 | |
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Governments Taking The Lead To Improve Animal Welfare During Transport |
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D r. Peter THORNBER Manager Australian Animal Welfare Strategy and Communications Australian Government Dept of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry GPO Box 858,Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
Tel: +61 2 6272 3925
Dr Thornber has extensive experience in Australia’s animal health and welfare system and has worked closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on animal health issues for many years. He is a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists (Animal Welfare) and the Australian Veterinary Association Animal Welfare and Ethics Special Interest Group. Dr. Thornber was responsible for the finalisation and endorsement of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy aimed at all Australians and all uses of animals
His team is managing the implementation of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy through an agreed National Implementation Plan and Sectoral Action Plans to deliver the Strategy across all major animal sectors. Dr. Thornber’s team is funding specialist working groups to specifically look at how to achieve better consistency of national animal welfare legislation, better communication about animal welfare, welfare education and training and better coordinated animal welfare research. Dr. Thornber has managed the development of Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock and their ongoing maintenance and review. His department is providing technical cooperation and funding to improve animal welfare handling in several countries in Asia and the Middle East. His team is working closely with governments and OIE Regional Coordinators in the Middle East and Asia to assist in developing regional plans to implement OIE Welfare Guidelines.
Jointly, Dr. Thronber, coordinated a
special publication in Veterinaria italiana on Welfare aspects of the
long distance transportation of animals, published in 2008. His
program funded current work to develop new Australian Standards and
Guidelines for Land Transport of Livestock from existing model codes. |
“Standards as a Tool for Animal Welfare”
Dr. Peter THORNBER Manager Australian Animal Welfare Strategy and Communications, Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
Australia is committed to outcomes based standards that recognise different production systems. This is in line with the approach of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the designated developer of international animal welfare guidelines under the World Trade Organisation. Those in charge of animals are best positioned to ensure their welfare and responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of standards must be shared. State and territory governments regulate animal welfare and therefore nationally agreed standards (a constitutional responsibility) while livestock industries incorporate the standards into quality assurance programs. Since the 1980s model codes of practice for the welfare of animals have established a national position for states and territories to draw on when developing animal welfare requirements for livestock. These national codes went beyond what could be achieved under anti-cruelty laws alone. The codes identify issues to be considered through the design of the physical, nutritional and social environment of animals and the competency and knowledge of the animal carers in order to deliver the desired animal welfare outcomes. The codes also provided benchmarks for courts of law and provided a framework for the application of advances in science to animal care. More recently, Australia has been working to put in place a nationally consistent approach to the development, implementation and enforcement of national welfare standards. This is a key goal under the national animal welfare policy framework, the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS). Groundbreaking progress has been achieved with the development of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for the Land Transport of Livestock. But too many animals and too many transports mean it is impossible for any agency to ‘command’ compliance if industry does not share the will to achieve better welfare outcomes. Applying the standards within an industry quality management framework empowers people in industry to deliver these outcomes. The Australian Livestock Transport Association ‘Truckcare’ program is a good example. The QA approach reduces risks to the animals and compliance burdens imposed by regulators. Work is underway through the AAWS to refine existing regulatory systems to take advantage of the additional features of the new Standards and Guidelines framework. For the international transport of animals Australia has developed Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock. These require exporters to be able to demonstrate how they will deliver required welfare outcomes in the sea and air transport of sheep, cattle, goats, buffalo, deer and camelids. PowerPoint Presentation |
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Andrea PARRILLA Sra. Andrea Claudia Parrilla is a Federal Inspector, Head of Division at the Department of Production and Sustainability of the Secretariat for Development of Agriculture and Cooperatives. She is also Head of the Permanent Technical Commission on Animal Welfare of the Ministry and co-ordinates all actions related to the Ministry’s policies regarding rules, regulations and best practices. Sra. Parrilla has worked in different capacities with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply both in the state and federal levels where she presently is in charge of developing the Integrated Production Agricultural System which has been undertaken by the Ministry. Under Secretary Marcio Portocarrero, in charge of the Secretariat for Development of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sra. Parrilla has been involved in both national and international negotiations to advise legislators on adapting Brazilian legislation to the Best Agricultural Practices, according to international standards. She is a 2002 graduate in Animal Sciences from the State University of Agrarian and Veterinarian Sciences of São Paulo (UNESP) and is currently working on her MBA on Agribusiness Management at the University of Brasília (UnB).
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“Brazil's Advances in
Since 1934 welfare in animal transport has been regulated in Brazil. Decree number 24.645 of 1934 establishes measures to protect animals and regulates the general principles for animal transport. Brazil as the world's largest exporter of beef and broiler meat and the fourth largest exporter of pork, transports a large number of animals for slaughter a year. Regarding the transport of poultry and pigs in Brazil, most farms are integrated, which means they are located close to the slaughterhouses. In this case everything (such as animal density, loading time, number of animals per truck, etc.) is coordinated by the industry and the transport conditions are good. There are private initiatives from a few industries that provide training to their drivers on how to carry broiler, pigs and cattle. Brazil has recently started to export live cattle, mainly to Venezuela and Lebanon. This market has been growing in the past three years. So, a working group has been composed in order to review and update the regulations applied to the export of livestock this year in Brazil. Their emphasis is on animal welfare. These regulations will consider the transport of animals from the farms up to the loading on the ships, pre-shipment handling at the farms and to the general conditions of the facilities, loading, the inspection of animals, and also the vessels conditions and the route plan. A set of guidelines about good practices in transport of beef cattle has been developed by Embrapa. Embrapa is Brazil`s largest public funded agricultural research company with 36 units around the country linked to several aspects of agriculture and animal farming. These guidelines have already been implemented in one important Brazilian state. The drivers receive training from a government agency based on that manual. This manual is undergoing a review and update in order to be implemented throughout the country. An official recommendation on good practices on farm animal welfare concerning production and transport has been published recently as the Normative Instruction number 56, November 2008. In order to establish its own research on Brazilian production systems, the Brazilian government is now funding a scientific commission formed by researchers from Embrapa and national universities. The results will produce a chapter of specific recommendations for the transport of livestock. The Brazilian Government is taking several steps to guarantee that animal welfare be a practice adopted by most farmers around the country in all stages of the production system, especially in transport of live animals. PowerPoint Presentation
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Dr. Roger POLAND Sr. Advisor, Animal Welfare Biosecurity New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry PO Box 2526 Wellington NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +64 4 894 0372 Fax: +64 4 894 0747
In 1975 Roger Poland earned his veterinary qualification at Michigan State University, in the USA, and began his career working in clinical practice as well as the meat industry. In 1983 Roger immigrated to New Zealand, and since that time has worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in a variety of different veterinary capacities. From 1983-1990 he was a Field Veterinarian working in different locations in both the North and South Islands, with live animal imports and exports and the meat industry. In 1991 Roger took the first of his technical standard setting jobs at MAF’s head office in Wellington, as a veterinary adviser for animal products imports. After three years this lead to an opportunity to take responsibility for MAF’s animal disease surveillance programmes, where Roger worked for the next 12 years. From 2006 onwards Roger has been part of MAF’s Animal Welfare Directorate, where he has primary responsibility for live animal exports. His other areas of work include being the MAF member of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, and managing animal welfare during emergencies. Roger met Rosemary (a kiwi) after coming to New Zealand, and they were married in 1985. Since then, they have raised two daughters and a son. Roger became a New Zealand citizen in 2002.
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“Recent Developments
Dr. Roger POLAND Sr. Advisor
Animal
Welfare Biosecurity Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
In New Zealand, to be eligible for export all animals must, unless granted an exemption, have been issued an animal welfare export certificate (AWEC). Decisions regarding AWECs are made by the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), who must be satisfied that the welfare of animals is provided for throughout the journey. To obtain an AWEC, exporters must apply to the Director-General of MAF. To assist exporters intending to apply for an AWEC, as well as the Director–General’s decision making process, MAF is developing guidelines concerning the type and level of information required from applicants wishing to export livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, and deer) by ship or aircraft. The draft guidelines were issued for public consultation by MAF on 15 December 2008, and the closing date for submissions was 27 February 2009.
Once the analysis of the submissions is complete, and any required revisions have been incorporated into the draft guidelines, they will be published.
This presentation will present the proposed guidelines and outcome from the public consultation process.
Discussion There are inherent risks in live animal exports. With the best of intentions and planning, a live export consignment can get caught up in events beyond its control (weather related for example) resulting in poor animal welfare outcomes.
Long distance transportation exposes animals to a variety of risk factors in a relatively short period of time such as changes to their diet and extremes of weather and temperature.
MAF’s Animal Welfare Directorate conducted an analysis of the risks associated with the long distance transport of livestock by ship or aircraft. The risk factors identified, and means of managing them, were categorised under five areas in the draft guidelines, namely:
Conclusions The finalised guidelines will provide potential exporters in New Zealand, and the MAF Director-General, with a useful tool for the identification and management of the animal welfare risks associated with long distance transport of livestock.
PowerPoint Presentation
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