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The humane slaughter of farm animals is of great concern to the CFHS, not because legislation is poor, but because enforcement is inadequate.
Humane slaughter first surfaced as a major issue in Canada in the 1950s. In fact, the CFHS was initially created over concerns about this issue, and was instrumental in passing the Humane Slaughter of Animals Act in 1960. This Act was repealed in 1985 when legislation concerning the humane slaughter of farm animals was incorporated under the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations. The Regulations outline the requirements for the humane treatment of animals leading up to slaughter as well as humane methods of slaughter.
Some provincial legislation includes specific requirements for the inspection and slaughter of animals. The Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals, which have been incorporated into some provincial animal protection legislation, contain guidelines on humane slaughter for each specific kind of animal.
Recently Dr. Temple Grandin, a Colorado State University Professor of Animal Science and a world-renowned expert in livestock handling facilities, audited 16 Canadian beef, pork and chicken plants in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. CFHS was a sponsor of Dr. Grandin’s audit tour.
Using an objective scoring system that she developed, Dr. Grandin evaluated the methods used at slaughterhouses and made nine recommendations based on the shortcomings found in Canadian plants. 43 per cent of plants failed in at least one category of humane slaughter. These included:
Although Canada has acceptable slaughter legislation, a lack of auditing and enforcement of the Meat Inspection Regulations results in less-than-desirable slaughter practices in Canada. The CFHS would like to see a standard third party audit system incorporated across Canada.
For more information, see Dr. Grandin’s 2002 and 2003 Audits of Stunning and Handling in Canadian Federally Inspected Beef, Pork and Chicken Slaughter Plants.
