Farmscape for July 20, 2005  (Episode 1864)

The Canadian Pork Council expects to have the new animal welfare component of its Canadian Quality Assurance program fully operational by early next year.

The Animal Care Assessment Tool was designed to be incorporated into the existing Canadian Quality Assurance Program, the swine industry's on farm food safety program, and it was unveiled earlier this month.

Canadian Pork Council Executive Associate Catherine Scovil says the tool is designed to provide producers a way to demonstrate the care they provide to the animals on their farms.

Clip-Catherine Scovil-Canadian Pork Council 

Hog producers already are very conscious and conscientious of the animals that they're looking after.

What this program does is very clearly outline what are basic requirements and ways to document and monitor the animals that they're caring for.

The Animal Care Assessment Tool was developed by a team of producers and producer organization representatives and animal care researchers, so people that are really experts in the field of animal care work, to set minimum guidelines for good care on hog farms.

It was designed to compliment the existing CQA program so, to be on the animal care assessment initiative, you actually have to be on the CQA Program.

The design was meant to mirror that and so what producers will see is an assessment tool that asks them questions, requires them to write protocols and keep records and to really document and record and monitor the animals under their care.

Scovil says the period from now until the end of the year is being used to build awareness of the new program and to train the validators who will conduct the on farm assessments.

It's expected to be up and running in early 2006.

Additional information is available on the Canadian Pork Council web site at cpc-ccp.com.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

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