Category: Institutions

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada part 3 – actions to protect farmed animals

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada part 3 – actions to protect farmed animals

Today, for the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform, we’re going to explore the issue of farmed animal welfare in Canada. Animal welfare refers to an animal’s well-being, both physically and mentally.

In Part 3 of this series, we’ll look at actions we can take to help protect farmed animals and create change.

As individuals, every time we sit down to eat, we have an opportunity to stand up for a kinder world for animals.

If we have the access and ability, removing animal products from our lives and opting for a plant-based lifestyle is one of the most powerful actions we can take at the individual level. When we eat, every meal makes a difference. As we lead by example, we can inspire others to do the same, which amplifies our impact for animals!

But let’s not stop there, it’s incredibly important that we also advocate for system-wide changes to help animals.

We can do this by supporting changes to laws and policies that impact animals. These changes can make a difference for those animals who are stuck in our current animal agriculture system right now. We can also advocate for food system change that’s focused on moving away from our broken food system and toward one that is kinder, healthier and more sustainable.

One of the ways we can do this is to speak up against ag-gag legislation, which aims to make it an offence to document conditions in the animal agriculture industry.Instead of passing ag-gag laws, our government could be working to address the troubling conditions on farms, during transport and at slaughterhouses.

We can also advocate for stronger laws and enforcement to better protect animals and to close existing loopholes that make it difficult to prosecute animal cruelty.

How do we get started? We can call for our government at all levels to take responsibility for protecting animal welfare. We can’t leave it up to industry and the private sector to make the rules. Polling in recent years has reflected widespread public support for stronger government legislation to protect animals. We need dedicated government departments focused solely on animal welfare and, at the federal level, national animal welfare legislation. Science shows that animals are suffering in situations that are currently legal and governments should take an evidence-based approach to policy that aligns with this science. 

Finally, we can advocate for shifting government subsidies and incentives to support overall food system change. Current government subsidies, believed to be in the billions of dollars, enable the industrial animal agriculture system in Canada to continue, business as usual, despite the industry’s contributions to animal suffering and climate and health issues.

For example, animal agriculture businesses in Canada received more than $1.9 billion in subsidies in 2019.

But it doesn’t have to be this way and governments can shift these subsidies and incentives to support a move away from animal-based agriculture towards plant-based food systems. They can encourage innovation in plant-based agriculture and incentivize farmers to transition to plant-based farming.

These are a few examples of how we can take action individually to help animals and to support system-wide change. If this is the first video that you watched, you can check out Part 1 and 2 in the links below.

Check out the resources on the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform, including a plant-based recipe library; a video series featuring experts in making the world better for farmed animals through diet, advocacy, and more; and a 21-day plant-based challenge to help you along in your journey. Even shifting just one meal a day or week to plant-based can help make a difference.

At PlantUniversity, you will also find more advocacy tips and tools, including ideas for supporting improved public access to plant-based meals in schools, hospitals and other public institutions; to tips for writing opinion pieces and letters to the editor; or strategies for engaging with your elected representatives and decision-makers.

If you found this video helpful, please consider sharing it.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform and email list to stay up to date on new content and to help animals!

Learn more:

Learn ABOUT ANIMAL SENTIENCE AND INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 1

Learn more about who farmed animals are and how they are treated in the animal agriculture system.

Read more

LEARN HOW TO TAKE ACTION FOR FARMED ANIMALS

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 2

Learn about the laws in Canada and how they fall short, as well as how they can be improved.

Read more

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada part 2 – farmed animal protection laws in Canada

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada part 2 – farmed animal protection laws in Canada

Today, for the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform, we’re going to explore the issue of farmed animal welfare in Canada. Animal welfare refers to an animal’s well-being, both physically and mentally.

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll explore the laws that relate to farmed animal welfare in Canada and how they fall short, as well as how they can be improved.

Every level of government in Canada including the federal, provincial and municipal, is responsible for the protection of animal welfare. Unfortunately, existing laws used to prosecute animal cruelty are not comprehensive and there are many gaps and exemptions. The laws are difficult to enforce and they still permit certain farming practices to be exempt from the law because they are seen as quote “reasonable and generally accepted practices of animal management”.

These gaps and exemptions mean that hundreds of thousands of animals continue to suffer on farms, during transport journeys and at slaughterhouses. This leads us to the question of who decides what “reasonable and generally acceptable practices of animal management” are to begin with?

In Canada, this has largely been left up to the animal agriculture industry itself to decide. The National Farm Animal Care Council is a largely industry-dominated organization which creates standards of practice for the care of animals on farms. These standards, called codes of practice, have become guidelines for what is considered acceptable practice in the industry. However, they aren’t legally required or proactively enforced by government.

The current codes still allow for concerning practices to be considered reasonable and acceptable, such as the use of electric prods to move animals; painful procedures without the use of pain control and the stressful separation of mothers and their babies at ages much younger than would occur naturally. For example, the dairy code of practice recommends separating mothers and calves shortly after birth.

The codes of practice also allow animals to be deprived from engaging in behaviours that are instinctual for them, such as pigs not being given materials to build nests with. This can lead to frustration and self-harm, such as chewing on bars and breaking teeth.

As animal farming has industrialized over the years, animals are increasingly being kept indoors and out of public sight.

Branding and labeling on products in grocery stores make it appear as though farmed animals are living happy, idyllic lives, but this couldn’t be further from the reality.

In recent years, numerous undercover investigations in Canada have shed light on the hidden reality of today’s industrialized animal agriculture system. But, instead of addressing the problem of how farmed animals are kept and mistreated, governments are increasingly passing what are known as “ag-gag” laws, which make it an offence to document conditions in the animal agriculture industry. These ag-gag laws are intended to deter whistleblowers and prevent undercover footage from surfacing.

This further undermines transparency, accountability and public trust. When these issues come up, the animal agriculture industry and the government are more concerned with making the public more trusting, than with changing the conditions that farmed animals experience.

Now that you’ve learned more about the laws that relate to farmed animal welfare in Canada and the gaps and flaws that exist, we encourage you to watch part 3 of this series, which will go into detail about the actions that we can take to help protect farmed animals and create change.

If you found this video helpful, please consider sharing it.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform and email list to stay up to date on new content and to help animals!

Learn more:

Learn ABOUT ANIMAL SENTIENCE AND INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 1

Learn more about who farmed animals are and how they are treated in the animal agriculture system.

Read more

LEARN HOW TO TAKE ACTION FOR FARMED ANIMALS

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 3

In part 3, we look at actions we can take to help protect farmed animals and create change.

Read more

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada part 1 – who they are & and how they’re treated

Farmed animal welfare issues in Canada – who they are & and how they’re treated

Today, for the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform, we’re going to explore the issue of farmed animal welfare in Canada. Animal welfare refers to an animal’s well-being, both physically and mentally.

In Part 1 of this series, we’ll learn more about who farmed animals are and how they are treated in the animal agriculture system in Canada. This topic may be upsetting, so please consider taking some time for self care after viewing.

More than 830 million land animals are raised and killed for food in Canada every year. The sheer number of farmed animals raised, along with the standard harmful practices they face on a daily basis, makes the treatment of farmed animals one of the most pressing topics to learn about and work towards improving animal protection.

This number of animals is only an estimate as it doesn’t include aquatic animals, who are typically measured by weight instead of individual lives. It also doesn’t include those who are treated as by-products, such as male chicks who are deemed to be of no value to the egg industry because they don’t lay eggs, and as a result are killed soon after hatching.

But who are these animals? Most people don’t have a lot of experience around farmed animals, but the truth is they are very similar to the dogs, cats and other companion animals we open our homes and hearts to.

They have distinct, individual personalities and a variety of interests. They can form strong bonds with other animals and are curious and enjoy exploring the world around them.

For example, chickens are intelligent animals, with research showing they can understand basic math and can count. They’re also capable of experiencing a wide range of emotions and can show empathy for others. 

Cows are socially complex animals. Studies show they rely on each other for comfort and have strong social bonds, especially between mothers and their calves. Mothers will protect their young in unfamiliar situations and both will show signs of significant distress when separated from each other.

Pigs are sensitive animals, who are aware of the emotions of other individuals. They have an excellent memory and can anticipate future experiences. They’re also incredibly playful and can learn games quickly and engage in play behaviours similar to what we see in dogs. 

Farmed animals are thinking, feeling beings. But the industrialized animal agriculture system treats them like products.

Today, the animal agriculture industry is characterized by large numbers of animals who are kept in cramped and barren conditions, unable to behave naturally or socially.

For example, egg farms often have tens of thousands of animals. The vast majority of egg farms in Canada keep hens confined to cages where each hen typically has less space than a standard sheet of paper. Unsurprisingly, this leads to significant frustration among the hens, who act out by plucking at each other’s feathers.

In addition to the unnatural living conditions, farmed animals will also experience stressful and painful practices that are considered standard on farms, such as de-beaking, or the removal of part of a hen’s beak to try and prevent them from pecking at and injuring each other. Farmed animals often experience rough handling and the use of electric prods to make them move. They may also be subject to inhumane methods of euthanasia, should they become injured or ill while on the farm.

Transport journeys are also very stressful for farmed animals. Loading of animals onto transport trucks often leads to injuries, including broken limbs.

For example, approximately 20% of caged egg-laying hens experience broken bones during the loading and transport process. The length of transport journeys is also a concern, with some species being transported for up to 72 hours straight, without food, water or rest, which is much longer than what’s permitted in Europe or the U.S.

Farmed animals are often transported in all weather conditions, without adequate protection from extreme heat and cold. Reports of pigs seen suffering from dehydration, on transport trucks during the summer heat, has sadly become all too common across Canada.

By the government’s own estimates, 14 million animals suffer injuries and 1.6 million die during transport journeys every year.

It goes without saying that slaughter is inherently stressful for farmed animals – from frightening sights, smells and sounds; to rough handling and fast-paced slaughter lines that put both animals, and workers at risk of injury. This creates the potential for inhumane slaughter practices. There are many animal welfare concerns at this stage.

For example, chickens are most commonly slaughtered by being hung upside down by their legs on an assembly line, before being moved through an electrically-charged bath intended to stun them and render them unconscious before being killed. This fast-paced process, during which upwards of 175 or more birds are slaughtered per minute, can easily lead to failed stunning and significant suffering as a result.

Now that you’ve learned a bit more about who farmed animals really are and how they are treated under today’s animal agriculture system, we encourage you to take good care of yourself as you process all of this information. When you’re ready, you can check out part 2 of this series, which will explore the laws related to farmed animal welfare in Canada. Part 3 will outline actions we can take to help protect farmed animals and create change. 

If you found this video helpful, please consider sharing it.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversity platform and email list to stay up to date on new content and to help animals!

Learn more:

Learn ABOUT animal welfare laws in canada

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 2

Learn about the laws in Canada and how they fall short, as well as how they can be improved.

Read more

LEARN HOW TO TAKE ACTION FOR farmed ANIMALS

Farmed Animal Welfare Issues in Canada – Part 3

Learn about actions we can take to help protect farmed animals and create change.

Read more

Go plant-based for the animals

Milking cows by automatic industrial milking rotary system in modern diary farm.

Go plant-based for the animals

The growing consumption of animal products has led to the expansion of factory farms.

Farmed animals are among the most directly impacted by human activity, with more than 830 million land animals raised and killed for food in Canada in 2019.

Mass consumer demand for of animal products has led to the rise of the industrial animal agriculture system, characterized by enormous numbers of animals confined in cramped, barren and unnatural conditions.

Animals are typically kept in cages or stalls that severely limit their ability to behave naturally and socially. It is also common practice to separate mothers from their young much earlier than would naturally occur. 

On-farm practices, including painful procedures without the use of pain control; rough handling and the use of electric prods; untimely or no treatment of injury and disease; and inhumane methods of euthanasia all pose serious farmed animal welfare concerns.

Practices and conditions surrounding the transport, auction and slaughter processes are also incredibly stressful for animals. Every year in Canada, approximately 14 million animals suffer injuries and 1.6 million die during transport journeys that are often long-distance and in extreme weather conditions. At slaughterhouses, thousands of animals are killed per day, resulting in a fast-paced, dangerous environment for both the animals and the workers.

Conditions in farms are often hidden from the public, denying consumers informed consent when they choose which products to purchase at the grocery store. There are a few legal protections for humane treatment of farmed animals, but these are often rarely enforced. Instead, so-called “Ag-Gag” laws punish those who expose cruelty on industrial farms with prison sentences, as recently took place in British Columbia.

Chickens

“Broiler” chickens, raised for meat, make up the vast majority of the animals killed for food in Canada. Of the 830 million farmed animals killed in 2019 in Canada, more than 747 million were broiler chickens.

Chicken farms vary in size, with an average of 36,000 birds kept in huge indoor sheds, eating and sleeping in their own waste for their entire lives. These chickens have been genetically modified by breeding for such rapid weight gain that they develop painfully weakened bones from rapid weight gain, which also causes heart attacks, skeletal disorders and lameness (inability to walk). In 1950 it took 84 days for a broiler to reach market weight. Today it takes 38 to 40 days.

Pigs

More than 21 million pigs were killed for meat in 2019 in Canada. Pig farms vary in size, with some housing upwards of 5,000 animals.

Most farms keep pigs confined indoors in individual stalls or group pens. While the Canadian standards require pigs to have enrichment, farmers have argued that pigs being near each other is enrichment enough. The majority of pigs are not provided materials for bedding or nest-building; behaviours that are hard-wired. As a result, they experience daily frustration and stress. Stress from overcrowding and boredom can create aggression, so most pigs have their tails cut off to prevent tail-biting.

The majority of farmers use gestation stalls to house mated female pigs used for breeding which involves brutal techniques of artificial insemination. These stalls provide only enough room for a pig to stand or lie down, but not enough to turn around. When the pig is expected to give birth, they are moved to a farrowing crate, which is similar in size to the gestation crate, but is equipped with a separate section for the piglets and a guardrail to prevent them from being accidentally crushed under their mother.

Typically, piglets are abruptly weaned between 14-28 days old, which is much earlier than natural and is stressful for the mom and piglets. The piglets are moved into group pens, while the mother is moved back into the breeding area to start the breeding cycle over. If a piglet is deformed, the legal method of euthanasia considered acceptable is blunt force trauma. As with kids (baby goats) and lambs, the animal is swung full speed against a wall, or tools such as hammers or pipes are used to bludgeon them.

Egg-laying hens

The average egg farm has over 22,000 hens, but larger farms can have more than 400,000 hens. The majority of egg-laying hens are kept confined in cages or crowded together in barns that are rarely cleaned and with air permeated by caustic ammonia. While one may think “free-range” eggs are better, free-range is legally defined as “access to the outdoors,” and barns are often so crowded that almost none of the hens will discover the small cat-sized door they have access to. In such densely populated barns, feather-plucking becomes a problem. It is common to see completely feather-bare hens sent to slaughter, having lived their entire lives being picked on by other hens.

Shortly after hatching, hen chicks undergo a painful ‘de-beaking’ procedure that involves removing part of the beak with a blade or laser, with no requirement for the use of pain medication.

In nature, hens live up to 10 years. Genetic selection has resulted in today’s egg-laying hens laying approximately 340 eggs per year – a much higher rate than is natural. After two to three years, the hen’s bodily resources are so depleted that their egg production decreases and they are sent to slaughter for food as they are no longer profitable. In 2019, nearly 34 million egg-laying hens were slaughtered for this reason in Canada. This does not include the number of male chicks that are killed after hatching, as they are of no use to the egg industry and are not the fast-growing breed used in the broiler (meat) chicken industry. They are killed by a chopper or boiling water.

Hens naturally go through a time where they stop laying, called moulting, each year. All commercial egg producers, including those misleadingly labelled as organic or free-range, either send the hens to slaughter as soon as this time arrives or they ‘force-moult’ the birds by starving them to shorten the period. If they force-moult, the farmers send the hens to slaughter after the second year because their bones are too brittle at this point from the egg laying.

Beef & dairy cattle:

More than 3 million beef and dairy cattle were killed in 2019 in Canada.

Castration and horn removal are routinely performed on cattle raised for beef. These are painful procedures that are often performed on cattle raised for beef without the use of pain medication. Transport is a stressful process for cattle, yet beef cattle are typically transported several times in their lives before being slaughtered.

It is common for calves to be sent to industrial feedlots in order to be quickly fattened up prior to slaughter. It’s there that beef cattle are often abruptly moved off a pasture diet to an unnatural high-grain based diet, which can lead to serious digestive issues.

In the dairy industry, cows are forcefully and painfully inseminated with long instruments. Calves are separated from their mothers shortly after being born, a standard industry practice that is distressing for both mother and calf. Calves tend to be confined in individual pens or hutches, with female calves later joining the milking herd, while male calves are raised for veal or are sent to auction at approximately one week old to be raised for beef. Some male calves are casually discarded in a pile and left to die, calling desperately for their distressed mothers.

Around 73% of dairy farms in Canada keep their milking herd in tie-stall housing, where they are tethered to their individual stall and unable to move around freely or engage in natural behaviours. Free-stall housing presents its own welfare challenges, including increased rates of lameness (difficulty walking). Contrary to the images used in dairy-product marketing, most cows are denied access to pasture and are kept indoors, where more time spent on concrete floors and unnatural surfaces can increase the likelihood of lameness. In British Columbia, where free-stall housing is more common, research found that on average, more than 25% of the province’s high-producing cows are clinically lame.

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