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Salvage rules are out: new rules say "downer"' cows must be euthanized on the farmAs of Feb. 1, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is requiring that if an animal isn't ambulatory, it is inhumane to load, transport and unload itby DON STONEMANIf a cow is "down," put her down, advises Crystal Mackay, general manager of the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC). Otherwise, farmers face fines for causing "undue suffering" to livestock in their care.Between changes in policy and regulations, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is re-interpreting the federal Health of Animals Act, which covers cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and horses. Mackay explains that existing regulations consider the treatment of an animal to be inhumane if it causes undue suffering. The new policy, which came into effect Feb 1, says that if an animal isn't ambulatory, it is inhumane to load, transport and unload it, except when it is being taken for veterinary treatment. "Downers" must be euthanized on the farm, warns Mackay. If a cow goes down during transportation, she must be euthanized on the truck before unloading. The specific conditions that make it illegal to load an animal will be spelled out in the new regulations. The onus is on whoever is responsible for shipping an animal. The farmer, the trucker or both may be subject to Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPS) of up to $6,000 for transporting a suffering animal. More severe penalties involving tens of thousands of dollars and time in jail are possible under either summary or criminal convictions, says Allen Giesche, CFIA's new manager of enforcement and investigations services. The application of an AMP "is an alternative to prosecution," according to Gord Doonan, CFIA's chief of humane transportation of animals. The AMP allows the regulations and policies to be enforced without going to court. There are 11 full-time CFIA inspectors working in Ontario. They carry identification and are empowered to issue notices of violation, says Giesche. Mackay notes that a veterinarian may be fined as well if he or she issues a certificate under Ontario's Livestock and Livestock Products Act, which certifies that even though an animal is injured it is safe for human consumption. CFIA didn't accept our proposal to continue this certification program, says Sharon Weitzel, Dairy Farmers of Ontario's representative on the OFAC board.
Mackay finds herself in the unenviable position of being the messenger in delivering news of these policy changes. The CFIA doesn't have a communications plan to notify the industry about these changes, she says, and "we are getting lots of questions." OFAC has received calls from both producers and truckers who have been warned by CFIA inspectors that they may be fined for moving a downer animal.
Mackay notes that AMPs can be applied regardless of where the animals are being shipped -- to community sales yards, to provincial or to federal plants. She adds that it is not just non-ambulatory animals that are getting caught in this, but also animals that are borderline. The owner of a "shaky" cow should keep in mind that three days may pass between shipping it to a sales yard and slaughter at a plant in Quebec. The animal's owner my be deemed to be responsible for her for the entire trip.BF
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