Let me be clear - breaking and entering and trespassing isn't okay and I do not advocate for it.
Nonetheless, all on-farm handling codes for all species of farmed animals are governed by National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) - a quasi-government agency that is, and has long been, subject to regulatory capture. In other words, it serves at the behest of industry rather than in the full interest of animals. While these codes have been updated over the years, they remain woefully inadequate. And farmers have no legal obligation to abide by the NFACC code - it is entirely voluntary and there is no formal enforcement mechanism.
Canada just updated its farmed animal transport regulations via the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA -another government agency who has fallen victim to regulatory capture). Our transport codes were last updated in the 1970's. Canada's farmed animal transport regulations were, and arguably remain, the worst in the western world - far behind Europe and even behind the United States. The new regs are, in many cases, worse than the previous iteration, and clearly have been written by industry and have virtually ignored most of the recommendations by animal welfare groups over months and months of consultation.
The CFIA also governs federally regulated slaughterhouses. While CFIA inspectors are supposed to be on site at all times, these individuals can often be hard to locate when needed and often fail to enforce regulations and have even been captured in undercover video engaging in illegal behaviour regarding transported animals destined for slaughter. The Harper government slashed the CFIA's budget years ago and reduced the number of meat inspectors. This has resulted in slaughterhouses closing and transport times have become longer and longer as animals have to be transported in all weather extremes to fewer and and more distant facilities. Also, the Listeriosis outbreak back in 2007 was, many believed, linked to inadequate inspection under the CFIA's purview. And given that most CFIA inspectors are permanent fixtures at any given slaughter facility, and are not rotated from place to place, they become part of the staff, and this reduces their likelihood to file complaints against those who have essentially become their "colleagues" or "co-workers".
Also, video evidence has come to light over the last 5-6 years from many groups who have documented abuse, neglect and in some cases, violations of the Criminal code as it relates to farm animals. Some of these cases have gone to court and heavy fines and light prison sentences have been issued as a result. Recently, a complaint was issued to the CFIA with video evidence showing a cow being skinned alive at a slaughterhouse in Toronto - they did nothing. Furthermore, HALAL is legal in Canada and is one of the most egregious forms of farmed animal cruelty - many European countries have decided that animal welfare trumps religious observances and have banned HALAL. Canada should follow suit, but that would offend the Islamic community and vote. Kosher slaughter is just as bad.
Furthermore, In Ontario, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) has failed to live up to its obligations under a deeply-flawed OSCPA Act, and simply no longer has the resources to investigate farm animal cruelty complaints. The OPP is taking over, apparently, yet has no proper training nor animal behaviourists and on-farm handling experts as part of its staff or mandate. And given the Ford government has just slashed the OPP's budget by $46 million for next fiscal, they certainly won't have the resources. Heck, the OPP won't even come out to investigate a B&E at your home or outbuilding . . . . they'll simply tell you to fill out the complaint over the phone and file an insurance claim. You think they're going to properly investigate animal cruelty cases? Not on your life. As it stands, no one, and I mean no one, is available to scrutinize cases of farmed animal abuse in Ontario.
Sadly, the animal agriculture industry has decided instead to take up an antagonistic approach to animal welfare issues and animal rights groups and activists. They have failed to heed the call to install CCTV cameras with live feeds in their large farms and slaughter facilities (like some countries in Europe are starting to do). They have fought tooth-and-nail to fight any claims of wrongdoing when it comes to light. They rarely inspect their own members farms and slaughterhouses. And when they do, they announce in advance when they are coming and usually if they've received a complaint from the public. They prefer the old strategy of slick marketing and ad campaigns showing "family farms" with smiling faces and touting the virtues of "working hard to feed Canadian families". This is specifically designed to assuage Canadians concerns about farmed animal welfare and paint a benign picture at all costs. And when something horrible does emerge in the news or online, they bring to bear their powerful PR spokespeople and campaigns to convince Canadians there's "nothing to see here, move along". Their standard comments are always from the same play-book: "We take animal welfare issues very seriously and this is not typical of how our members govern themselves."
The animal agriculture industry needs to clean up its act and concede more input from animal welfare organizations and NGO's regarding regulation, oversight and enforcement. They need to work with these groups and not oppose them through lobbying efforts and undue influence on legislators. And the only way they can do that is through a commitment to transparency and engagement with animal rights groups and Canadians genuinely concerned with animal welfare issues. Canadians tend to think we are a compassionate society, yet our lax and even absent laws and investigatory bodies says otherwise.
Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote: "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. And for activists, they see the issue of animal rights as a social justice issue. They see the laws around farmed animal welfare in this country as unjust, or at best, inadequate.
Nigel Osborne, Durham
