Program Grants for 2011
Regional Meetings on Battery Cages for Laying Hens
SPCA Certified Standards
Animal Transportation Research
Lecture Grants
University Animal Welfare Clubs
Regional Meetings on Battery Cages for Laying Hens
In May, 2011, the AWFC hosted four regional meetings on the topic Is There a Future for Battery Cages in Canada? The meetings explored the pros and cons of cages for egg production, particularly from an animal welfare point of view.
Alternative husbandry systems available for egg production were described, together with their strengths and weaknesses. Producers discussed the practical challenges of producing eggs in a non-cage system.
Speakers at the meeting included Dr. Ian Duncan, President of the AWFC and an expert on poultry welfare and behaviour, and Dr. Michelle Jendral, Assistant Professor of Poultry Behaviour and Welfare at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. One or two local egg producers also spoke at each meeting. The meetings were attended by a range of participants including representatives of egg industry associations and marketing agencies, universities, producers and others.
The meetings took place in Calgary, Abbotsford, Truro and Ottawa. The Truro meeting was videotaped and will be distributed on DVD to agriculture faculties of universities in Canada, animal welfare clubs, and on request to the AWFC office. It will also be uploaded to YouTube.
SPCA Certified Standards
The British Columbia SPCA project, SPCA Certified Standards for Lameness Assessment and Pain Management in Cattle and Pigs, which is financially supported by the AWFC, is near fulfillment. The society has completed standards for dairy and beef cattle and will finish the standards for pigs in 2011. Workshops have been conducted in Vancouver to train BC SPCA special provincial constables and SPCA Certified inspectors to conduct “outcome-based” animal welfare assessment protocols: body condition scoring of beef and dairy cattle and gait scoring of cattle and broiler chickens. Further information and detailed protocols are available on the BC SPCA website.
Animal Transportation Research
Dr. Michael Cockram, Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Prince Edward Island, is continuing work on his two research projects funded by the AWFC: Transportation of animals for slaughter in Canada: current practice, welfare issues and regulatory control and Study of injuries associated with the handling and transport of horses for slaughter.
Lecture Grants
In keeping with its mandate to promote humane education, the AWFC provided a grant of $2,500 to the animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia to support the P.R.U. Stratton Memorial Lecture, and $2,500 to the animal welfare chair at the University of Guelph to support the Basil Capes Memorial Lecture. These grants allow each university to invite distinguished national and international speakers to make public presentations on topical animal welfare issues.
University Animal Welfare Clubs
The AWFC provided grants of $2,000 to support the educational programs of the animal welfare clubs in each of the five veterinary colleges in Canada - the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island; the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, University of Montreal; the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph; the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan; and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary.
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