Reading Time: < 1 minute Research scientist Brenda Ralston is this year’s winner of the Award of Distinction from Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC). Currently at Lakeland College’s Vermilion campus, Ralston began her 35-year career with the province, first as a district agriculturist and then as a beef specialist while earning a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD, the latter […] Read more
Alberta researcher wins animal care award
Learn to manage disease threats in livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Animal Health Emergency Management project and its industry partners are offering a series of workshops on emergency responses to animal diseases. The three-part workshop series are based on handbooks created by the organization on topics such as “Emergency Management 101” and proactive disease management. “The one-hour sessions progressively build out important animal disease management […] Read more
AFAC and counties can identify livestock feed problems
The Alert Line is a confidential way to report animal welfare concerns in Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer’s drought conditions haven’t affected the number of calls to Alberta Farm Animal Care’s Alert Line, but that could change as the weather worsens this winter. “I haven’t seen a huge jump in calls yet, but I think we’re going to be seeing some issues with feed and body condition after this drought,” said […] Read more
Britain facing mass cull of pigs due to butcher shortage
London | Reuters — Britain’s farming industry has warned that hundreds of thousands of pigs may have to be culled within weeks unless the government issues visas to allow more butchers into the country. An acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers in the meat processing industry has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and Britain’s post-Brexit immigration […] Read more
Being tense and temperamental may not be good for a cow’s health
The way cattle exit the chute could be an indicator of their chances of falling prey to a disease
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can your herd health improve if you know how to spot and cull the temperamental cattle? That’s what Diego Moya Fernandez is hoping to find out. “We are not trying to look for happy or sad cows,” said the assistant professor and researcher at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “When I talk about temperament, […] Read more
Barn fires underreported — and far too common, says humane society
Most provinces, including Alberta, lack accurate stats, and that’s part of the problem, says official
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even animal death in a barn fire is one too many. But at first glance, it would seem Alberta has a reasonably good handle on them. A recent study found that during a five-year period (2015-19), Quebec had 141 barn fires and Ontario 121 — but there were just eight barn fires in Alberta. The […] Read more
New guide for transporting cull cows
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Milk has a new guide for assessing if a cull cow can be shipped. “Regardless of whose care the animal may pass through, it is ultimately the producer who is held accountable should one of their animals be deemed to have been transported inappropriately,” the organization said in its most recent monthly newsletter. One […] Read more
By working together, we can grow the world into something new
Reading Time: 4 minutes Leslie Siewert, 13, of Cayley was the junior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition (which was held as a virtual event this year). Her topic was: Lessons learned over the last 25 years of agriculture — and how we can apply it to the next 25. Agriculture is killing the planet; cows […] Read more
New online training program for horse caregivers
The videos cover sections of the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada has launched an online training program in an effort to increase awareness around nationally developed guidelines for the care and handling of equines. “This new video series provides a timely refresher about management and welfare practices for the animals in our care,” said project coordinator Mikki Shatosky. “Be it […] Read more
Animal welfare activist dies outside Ontario pork plant
Protestor reportedly hit by transport truck
An animal welfare activist has died while attending what’s been described as a “vigil” outside a southern Ontario hog packing plant, as new provincial limits on such activity around livestock are set to take effect. Halton Regional Police Service reported receiving a call Friday morning that a person had been “struck by a transport truck” […] Read more
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