Animal welfare group inks first deal with a livestock organization

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Photo: Crystal Mackay

by SUSAN MANN

Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s field services representatives will provide technical assistance to Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals agents when they investigate animal cruelty complaints on dairy farms.

The arrangement was formalized in an agreement reached by the two organizations and announced Wednesday on the Dairy Farmers website. There was an understanding between the two organizations in the past but this is the first time the OSPCA has signed an agreement with a livestock group spelling out its involvement in providing help to the society.

OSPCA agent Brad Dewar, investigation communication officer, says the field services representatives would assist “us when we attend the farm.” Dairy Farmers staff would help OSPCA officers in speaking to the farmer “in order to all collectively work together to rectify whatever concern there might be or to just verify there is no concern.”

Dewar says the understanding before the agreement was signed had been in place for a while but he didn’t know exactly how long.

Crystal Mackay, executive director of Farm & Food Care Ontario, says Dairy Farmers is a founding member of the former Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC), it has a member on the interim board of Farm & Food Care and it provides assistance with the former OFAC’s Helpline started in 1992. It’s a service where people with concerns about animal care on farms can call and confidentially report them. The calls are referred to the appropriate commodity group for follow-up. Farm & Food Care Ontario is an amalgamation of two farm groups – OFAC and Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment.

Mackay says the Helpline isn’t designed to handle situations of cruelty or abuse. The Helpline is still in place now that OFAC has been rolled into Farm & Food Care Ontario. “If anything, it’s new and improved.”

Dairy Farmers staff has been doing Helpline calls and going on calls with the OSPCA for 20 years, she says. Since Dairy Farmers staff has legal authority to go on farms, they had an agreement with the OSPCA where in some cases the society would just call DFO directly rather than going through the former OFAC.

Mackay says DFO is one of Farm & Food Care Ontario’s most solid supporters and the organization provides $60,000 in funding annually to the organization’s $500,000 budget.

About the recent agreement between DFO and OSPCA, Mackay says it is positive. “The stronger the relationship is between the farming community and the OSPCA and the more we can provide technical expertise on farm calls it’s in the best interests of farmers and farm animals.”  

Last year the OSPCA investigated slightly less than 15,000 animal cruelty complaints across Ontario, Dewar says, noting he didn’t have a number for the ones involving dairy farms but “it is very rare.”

Dairy Farmers also says on its website animal care issues on Ontario dairy farms that require OSPCA involvement are very rare.

Dairy Farmers and the OSPCA will appoint appropriate staff to participate in joint on-farm training sessions to ensure the Dairy Cattle Code of Practice is applied consistently.

Dewar says they’re working on implementing agreements with other livestock commodity organizations in Ontario. BF