The Importance of Animal Welfare in Organic Livestock Production – Part 2

by Jane Morrigan, M.Sc.

In Part 1 of this article, I defined good animal welfare as “fit and feeling good”, and discussed animal-based measures that livestock farmers can use to assess their animals’ quality of life. I will now discuss ways to minimize stress, and what lies ahead in terms of quality assurance and on-farm audits.

While it is extremely important that food animals be killed quickly in a manner that is as painless as possible, it is equally important that stress be minimized during the entire pre-slaughter period, i.e., from the time the animal is removed from the farm right up until the animal is stunned at the abattoir. Trucking and penning animals in familiar groups, using adequate bedding to prevent slipping, not over-crowding and gentle, patient handling on and off the trailer will reduce stress during this most critical time of their lives.

Back on the farm, one way of minimizing stress on livestock is by making humane breeding decisions. For instance, lean-ness in pigs tends to be correlated with excitable temperament, which is a risk factor for severe pre-slaughter stress, which in turn causes PSE in pork. Therefore, choosing a breed of pig for which lean-ness has not been selected as a key trait will result in animals who are less easily-stressed. Choosing to raise naturally hornless breeds of cattle, such as Polled Angus and Polled Herefords, will result in less risk of injury to cattle when they are crowded such as in transport.

Another way of minimizing stress on livestock is to spend time taming them, and exposing them to many different experiences in their lives. An animal who is not afraid of people and habituated to vehicles and noise and loading, will be able to cope more easily with the multiple challenges when leaving the farm for the packing plant. Taming and training go a long way not only to reducing stress for the animal, but also in saving time and reducing risk of injury for human handlers. Ultimately these benefits will also reach the consumer because meat from least stressed animals in the pre-slaughter period is of higher quality.

Canada is gradually moving toward some mandatory inspections (audits) on farms, via quality assurance programs run by the animal industries themselves (including certified organic systems). I believe this will one day lead to licensing requirements for every livestock farm. The public simply is demanding more assurances from animal agriculture that the animal products they buy will not make them sick, and that the animals are well-cared for throughout their lives.

In conclusion, there is now overwhelming scientific evidence that animals possess a complex blend of physiological, behavioural and neurobiological characteristics. Animals have enormous capacity to feel a huge range of emotions, to learn from their experiences, to adapt to challenges, to reason…and to suffer when their needs are either ignored or disrespected. It is now time, in the evolution of the relationship between humans and animals, to move forward with this knowledge, and take real action to improve the lives of farm animals. Organic livestock farmers and their certifying bodies have an excellent opportunity to lead the way, in setting a good example for neighbouring farms, and establishing “gold standards” for animal care. Communicating with the public about the importance of animal welfare in organic systems in general and on your farm in particular, will pay dividends for your livelihood. You will also feel satisfaction and pride about the quality of care you are providing for animals while knowing that you have an ethical duty to respect them, provide for their needs and protect them to the moment their lives end.

Jane Morrigan, M.Sc., is the Website Coordinator for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC), and a former dairy farmer who completed a Master’s thesis on the welfare of cull dairy cows. She welcomes your comments via email at jmorrigan@nsac.ca or at 902-893-7256.

Posted on the OACC website, July 2006