Farmscape for April 26, 2013

The president of Bock Industries reports the pork industry has welcomed the introduction of a new tool designed to deliver pain and stress free euthanasia to compromised piglets.
The Zephyr E, manufactured by Philipsburg, Pennsylvania based Bock Industries, is a non-penetrating captive bolt device developed at the University of Guelph for euthanizing non-viable piglets up to 20 pounds.
Bock Industries President Randall Bock says the device has been shown to more reliable and more consistent than the alternatives.

Clip-Randall Bock-Bock Industries:
A couple of factors to consider, first the Zephyr E is a purpose built device.
This is actually the way it's presented in the American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines on euthanasia.
This is what industry is looking for, is a purpose built device of doing this necessary task.
The device has been tested at the University of Guelph and found to be 100 percent effective in dispatching piglets up to 20 pounds.
These are the neonates and weaned piglets.
It's been the topic of a number of research papers which are available on my web site for the audience reference and also university PhD thesis as well.
It's very important to note that so much animal welfare research is done at the University of Guelph.
This is really something we look at.
There is in the United States the American Veterinary Medical Association which is our guiding star which is really what we benchmark against in the United States and it's also referenced world wide.
This work done at the University of Guelph is being referenced by the American Veterinary Medical Association so we have a nice solid pedigree with the Zephyr of study and appreciation really across the United States and Canada.

For more information on the Zephyr E visit the Bock Industries web site at bock-industries.com.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council