Animal Transport: Travel Tales of the Average Meal

by Tara Irwin (Originally published in the July/August 2006 issue of Canada EarthSaver)

Canadian farm animals are a well traveled group, some seeing more of the world in their short lifespan than the average person. Many have criss-crossed the country and others go beyond, to the U.S., Mexico and even Asia. Despite growing interest in North America in the idea of "eating local", the distances and numbers of animals transported for human consumption continues to increase. For example, the number of hogs traveling between American states has grown by 20 million in the last 30 years. On a global scale, 50 billion live animals are transported each year, many of them cross international borders.

The increased movement of farmed animals is primarily a byproduct of the centralization of specialized processing plants in agriculture, and secondly the continued expansion of North-South trade. The specialization of industrial farming means it is common for farmed animals to be transported three or more times after weaning, moving from "growing areas" to "finishing areas" and finally to the slaughtering plant.

From an animal welfare perspective, the problem with the movement of farmed animals is obvious. Under the best conditions, transportation is extremely stressful for the animals, but the reality is that conditions are seldom ideal. Extreme heat (think driving across the Prairies, crammed in a tiny car without AC in August) or cold combined with overcrowding means that many animals are injured or die while in transit. In Canada alone approximately 2.5 to 3 million poultry die annually while being moved to federally inspected slaughterhouses. Poultry scientists have attributed this to "severe heat stress" and "additional trauma".

Transport conditions are influenced to a large degree by government regulations and codes of practice, which vary greatly between countries. Current regulations in Canada were developed over 30 years ago. These regulations permit cattle to spend 57 hours without water (five hours prior to loading and 52 hours while in transit). The total time they can be without food is even greater, at up to 81 hours. Evidently these figures are in need of review, especially when compared to European regulations, which require cattle are provided water every 14 hours.

In 2005 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced they are "preparing" to make changes to the current live animal transport practices (as set out under the Health of Animals Act). Dr. Gord Doonan, the head veterinarian for CFIA, states that revisions are "clearly needed" in order to keep up with new practices in transport and to clarify the "generally vague terminology" of the current regulations. However, the proposed changes have been met with some resistance, specifically from industry. Concerns have been raised about increased costs and the possibility that updated regulations will be too prescriptive, thus endangering the competitive ability of farmers and industry.

Overall, transportation of farmed animals is an issue commonly overlooked. Attention focuses more often on the conditions in which animals are raised and slaughtered. However, the work of advocacy groups such as Animal Angels and the Animal Protection Institute (API) is helping bring awareness about the inadequacies of modern animal transport into the public debate. API highlights what individuals can do, suggesting that consumers and animal advocates pressure the government to enact the proposed federal modifications to the current live animal transport practices and to adopt the global standards. These standards have been drafted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and they aim to standardize international codes of practice for animal welfare during transportation over land and sea.

Even for those of us not personally consuming meat, we can encourage grocery stores to purchase from local producers. API suggests supporting grocers that adhere to an 8-hour transit limit when they source meat from producers. Individuals can also support the organic producers in our region. However, unlike the organic carrots from the local farmer's market, there is no guarantee that a certified organic farm animal has escaped stressful transport. The standards for transporting organic animals are more humane than conventional practices, as they must be "unloaded, fed, watered, and rested at least once every 24 hours from the time of loading", but these are still poor when compared to international standards, such as in Europe.

Ultimately, it may come down to thinking about and questioning a typical meal more holistically; from the environmental, health and the animal welfare perspective. As more individuals begin to ask more questions regarding how far farmed animals have traveled and what conditions they have endured, the sooner we can begin to rethink and restructure the current systems of transportation and the standards that govern them.