The comment period for the “Equine Code of Practice” has now ended. Thank you for helping to ensure animals’ well-being is considered in this consultation.
The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Equine Code of Practice serves as a guideline for the on-farm care and handling of horses raised in Canada, including horses used for rodeos, racing, and slaughter.
The code of practice is up for review for the first time since 2013 and NFACC is seeking public input on what issues to consider when reviewing and updating the code.
The current code allows for aversive handling practices that cause stress and fear to horses.
Note that the code does not include transport, such as the live export of horses for slaughter; it only includes on-farm practices and deciding if individual horses are fit for transport.
Your input needed to identify top welfare issues
Can you take a moment to fill out the short survey and share your top 3 concerns you think NFACC should consider? The deadline to complete the survey is May 16, 2024.
Scroll down to read a few of the top welfare issues you may want to consider.
Share your top 3 priorities in the survey.
Please use your own words (do not copy and paste the wording below) and be respectful and constructive.
Feedback that includes duplicate responses and/or profanity or derogatory language will not be considered by NFACC.
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Top welfare priorities
Aversive handling & training
Prohibit aversive handling, training methods and tools that involve the use of fear, pain or stress to make horses perform an activity or behaviour.
Many modern training practices are still largely based on historical methods that rely heavily on punishment. While horses may appear “calm”, they are often experiencing learned helplessness. This condition occurs when the horse experiences a painful or negative situation repeatedly and is unable to escape or change the outcome. This results in a negative mental state for the horse.
Environment & enrichment
Improve requirements to ensure access to appropriate space, shelter, and dry, clean pen conditions.
This is important in preventing lameness and other health issues.
Improve requirements to ensure opportunities to forage, turnout/free pasture time, and socialize.
This is crucial for reducing stress and stereotypic behaviour.
Health & lameness
Require that pin firing (thermocautery) not be performed.
Pin firing is a painful procedure that involves burning or freezing the skin and tissue of the affected leg. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) opposes the practice as it “is ineffective and is inconsistent with evidence-based medicine”.
The comment period for the “Beef Cattle Code of Practice” has now ended. Thank you for helping to ensure animals’ well-being is considered in this consultation.
The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Beef Cattle Code of Practice serves as a guideline for the care and handling of cows raised in Canada’s beef industry.
The code of practice is up for review for the first time since 2013 and NFACC is seeking public input on what issues to consider when reviewing and updating the code.
The current code allows for many inhumane practices that compromise the welfare of cattle in the beef industry.
Your input needed to identify top welfare issues
Can you take a moment to fill out the short survey and share your top 3 concerns you think NFACC should consider? The deadline to complete the survey is May 3, 2024.
Scroll down to read a few of the top welfare issues you may want to consider.
Share your top 3 priorities in the survey.
Please use your own words (do not copy and paste the wording below) and be respectful and constructive.
Feedback that includes duplicate responses and/or profanity or derogatory language will not be considered by NFACC.
Top welfare priorities
Fear and stress
Chronic fear and stress throughout an animal’s life, as a result of harsh handling, on-farm procedures, separation of the cow and calf, etc., is a serious animal welfare and health concern. Stronger requirements around staff training and oversight (e.g. video monitoring, third party audits) are needed.
Painful procedures
Require pain medications for all painful procedures, regardless of the animal’s age.
Enrichment
Require enrichment opportunities that allow cattle to express natural behaviours, including foraging, exercise, social behaviour, and grooming.
Weaning
Require a more gradual, natural weaning process for cows and calves to reduce stress.
Barren environments
Feedlots often lack appropriate space, grazing access, and shelter. Poor feedlot conditions are a serious health and welfare concern and can lead to lameness and disease.
Nutrition
Abrupt changes from a pasture diet to an unnatural high grain-based diet can cause serious digestive and nutritional issues.
When the Dairy Cattle Code of Practice was updated, it received a record-setting 5,800+ comments! The strong public response during the public consultation prompted stronger restrictions around abusive handling, changes to housing models, and a ban on branding.
Now, cattle in the beef industry need your help too. Thank you for speaking up for farmed animals!
Each month, gentle draft horses are packed into crowded crates and shipped on cargo planes from Canadian airports to be slaughtered for meat.
Horses can legally go up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest.
Flights have resulted in injuries and death.
Bill C-355, which aims to ban the export of horses for slaughter, recently passed the Agriculture Committee and will move to its final vote in the House of Commons before going to the Senate.
Take action to ban the live horse export industry
TIP: For added impact, edit the template message below to personalize your email to decision-makers. See the Learn More section for additional talking points.
Learn more
Horses are suffering in Canada’s cruel live horse export industry, and Canadians are demanding change.
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed the Minister of Agriculture to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. Finally, in 2023, two bills were introduced to end the inhumane practice.
One of those bills, Bill C-355, has now passed the Agriculture Committee and will move onto its third and final reading and vote at the House of Commons.
Although only 22% of Canadians agree with the live export of horses, 43% of MPs voted NO to banning the practice at the bill’s previous reading. It is vital that we ensure decision-makers know that the well-being of horses is a priority for Canadians.
See how your MP voted previously and use the quick action on this page to ask your MP to vote YES to Bill C-355!
Excelsior Hog Farm is in the news again after disturbing new undercover footage, allegedly filmed at the Abbotsford farm between April and June 2023, was released by Animal Justice.
The footage shows:
cruel handling practices, including pigs being kicked in the stomach and face, and struck with metal rods and plastic boards;
injured pigs with hernias, pressure sores, open wounds and leg injuries; and
filthy conditions, including dead and rotting bodies of pigs and partially eaten bodies of piglets, and floors caked in feces and what appears to be blood and feces in some water troughs.
Call for meaningful action to protect farmed animals, including:
Government-mandated and proactively enforced farmed animal welfare regulations;
Publicly available reports of independent, third-party audits on farms and in slaughterhouses, including consistent video surveillance monitoring for real transparency; and
Appropriate deterrents to prevent animal cruelty, including unannounced inspections and effective penalties for industry stakeholders who are found guilty of animal cruelty.
Fill out the form below to send this important message to your Member of B.C.’s Legislative Assembly (MLA), B.C.’s Premier, and B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture.Feel free to personalize the message.
Live outside of Canada? You can email B.C.’s Premier at premier@gov.bc.ca and the Minister of Agriculture at AF.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Not the first time Excelsior accused of cruelty
This comes after a previous undercover investigation at the farm in 2019, which also showed concerning on-farm conditions and treatment of pigs. The footage included clips of dead and dying pigs in unsanitary conditions and cruel handling, including piglets being castrated without the use of painkillers.
Despite this evidence, the farm’s owners were never charged or held accountable. Instead, two advocates involved in a peaceful protest and sit-in that took place on the farm, have been convicted and face jail time. Both are appealing their convictions.
Second major undercover investigation in B.C. this year
While the animal agriculture industry attempts to suggest instances like this are the exception to the rule and don’t represent the industry as a whole, the reality is that numerous investigations over the years have revealed widespread animal cruelty and welfare issues on farms and in slaughterhouses.
In February 2023, undercover footage from a Pitt Meadows-based slaughterhouse, Meadow Valley Meats, showed animals being hit, kicked and thrown to the ground; inhumane use of an electric prod; frightened animals crowding together in the hallways and panicked attempts to escape; and improper slaughter techniques that led to significant animal suffering.
Like Excelsior Hog Farm, this was not the first incident involving the company. Media reports that the company, formerly called Pitt Meadows Meats, pled guilty in 2015 to selling E. Coli-tainted meat and after the plant manager knowingly decided not to recall it.
The new footage, along with the many other previous undercover investigations in B.C., make it clear that there are serious, systemic issues across the animal agriculture industry.
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,020 advocates who used the quick action to speak out against anti-transparency ag-gag bills. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help protect farmed animals.
Bill C-275 has been sent to the House of Commons agriculture committee for further review this fall.
This federal ‘ag-gag’ bill would criminalize whistleblowers and undercover investigators who expose animal cruelty or welfare issues on farms.
Tell decision-makers to vote NO to C-275.
An ‘ag-gag’ bill that targets animal advocates and whistleblowers will soon go to a vote. Tell your Member of Parliament to say NO to Bill C-275.
While decision-makers claim Bill C-275 aims to protect on-farm biosecurity by deterring trespassers, trespassing laws already exist and the government’s own data indicates that previous disease outbreaks have been caused by poor on-farm practices from owners/operators. The standard industry practice of keeping large numbers of genetically similar animals in close confinement creates a prime environment for disease outbreak.
Similar ‘ag-gag’ bills have been implemented in other jurisdictions to further limit transparency of the animal agriculture industry and prevent undercover exposes that shed a negative light on this hidden industry.
Instead of targeting whistleblowers who expose the conditions and treatment of animals on farms, the government should be addressing the conditions and treatment directly. Following a disturbing recent undercover expose of a B.C.-based slaughterhouse, the VHS is reiterating the urgent need for more transparency and accountability within the animal agriculture sector, not less.
Join this call to action by urging federal decision-makers, including your Member of Parliament, the House of Commons Agriculture Committee, and the federal Minister of Agriculture, to say NO to Bill C-275.
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,020 advocates who used the quick action to speak out against anti-transparency ag-gag bills. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help protect farmed animals.
An ‘ag-gag’ bill that targets animal advocates and whistleblowers will soon go to a vote. Tell your Member of Parliament to say NO to Bill C-275.
Bill C-275 is a federal private member’s bill that, if passed, would target whistleblowers and undercover investigators who expose animal cruelty and welfare issues on farms. The bill calls for fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and jail time for offences by individuals and organizations. These types of concerning ‘ag-gag’ laws have been passed in some Canadian provinces including Alberta, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island and in the U.S. in recent years.
While decision-makers claim Bill C-275 will protect on-farm biosecurity by deterring trespassers, trespassing laws already exist and there are no documented cases of disease outbreaks having been caused by animal advocates. In fact, an Animal Justice report points to poor on-farm biosecurity practices as the cause of many disease outbreaks. The standard industry practice of keeping large numbers of animals in close confinement creates a prime environment for disease outbreak.
Instead of targeting animal advocates and whistleblowers who expose the conditions and treatment of animals on farms, the government should be addressing the conditions and treatment directly. Following a recent undercover expose of a B.C.-based slaughterhouse, the VHS is reiterating the urgent need for transparency and accountability within the animal agriculture sector.
Bill C-275 will soon be going to a vote in the House of Commons, making it crucial for Members of Parliament (MPs) to hear from constituents like you.
While the NFACC guidelines aim to address cruelty, the code’s reach is not absolute. Meaningful monitoring, enforcement, and penalties for industry stakeholders found guilty of animal abuse are still needed to ensure animals are protected.
More than 5,800 people commented on new dairy industry guidelines
Last year, the VHS and other animal organizations across Canada spoke out for animals during a consultation period on the National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Dairy Cattle Code of Practice, which provides guidelines for the care of dairy cows on farms across Canada, and shared tips on how to call for much-needed improvements during the public comment period. Thousands of animal advocates and concerned consumers responded, and the Code received a record-setting 5,800+ comments!
The NFACC has now released its updated Dairy Cattle Code of Practice. The strong public response during the public consultation prompted some positive changes, including stronger restrictions around abusive handling, changes to housing models, and a ban on branding. However, several areas of the Code still fall short of expectations.
A veal calf from the dairy industry chained up during the Quebec winter. Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur \ We Animals Media.
Click or tap the headings below for more details on each section.
Calf housing – Pair/group housing to be required, but not until 2031
A primary area of concern noted in the public consultation was around calf housing. Approximately 63% of farms currently keep dairy calves in individual housing. This lack of social and physical contact with other calves can cause significant stress for calves. Despite this, the new code continues to allow calves to be kept in individual housing until 2031, at which point they are to be housed in pairs or groups by 4 weeks old. The stressful industry practice of separating mothers and newly born calves was unaddressed in the new code.
Cow housing – Continuous tethering to be phased out, but details needed around freedom of movement
Currently, cows can be kept tethered in individual stalls and there has been no requirement for access to pasture, outdoors or a sheltered, bedded pen. Under the new code, continuous tethering will be prohibited by 2027, at which point cows must be provided “sufficient regular opportunity for freedom of movement”. What this means in practice is yet to be determined.
No requirement for outdoor access
The NFACC acknowledges that cows are “naturally motivated to access pasture and graze” and that “regular access to open outdoor areas or bedded packs improves hoof health, reduces the frequency and severity of injuries, and can reduce the occurrence of lameness”. Despite this, the new code does not require that cows be provided access to sheltered, bedded packs, exercise yards, or the outdoors.
No emergency plans required, despite recent disasters
The public consultation period for the dairy code began just weeks after catastrophic flooding hit British Columbia in 2021. This emergency, along with the record-breaking heat waves from earlier that same year, claimed the lives of 1.3 million farmed animals and reiterated the need for emergency plans for farms. Shockingly, the new code fails to include any requirements around emergency planning.
Compromised and lactating cows still allowed to be transported
Transport is a particularly stressful process for farmed animals, especially for dairy cows who may be in poor condition after their milk production declines or who are ill or injured. Still, the new code allows compromised (e.g. mild lameness, not fully healed from a procedure) or still lactating cows to be transported, putting them at risk of further injury and suffering.
Stronger language introduced around abusive handling
The new code prohibits abusive handling, which it defines as including but not limited to “kicking, beating, striking, tail twisting, dragging, improper use of a prod, and forcefully pulling cattle by the tail, head, or neck.”
The new Dairy Code of Practice can be read in full here (opens as a PDF).
Monitoring, enforcement and penalties needed
To protect the well-being of dairy cows, the new Code of Practice must be paired with independent, proactive third-party oversight; enforcement; and effective penalties.
The 2021 undercover investigation of Cedar Valley Farms, a B.C.-based dairy farm, reiterates the importance of proactive monitoring to deter and catch cruelty violations. Footage from the farm revealed serious instances of illegal animal abuse. A former employee of Cedar Valley Farms, who worked there for four years, told media he’d repeatedly reported the abuse, but nothing changed.
Take action
Update
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,381 advocates who used the quick action to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals, including an action calling for widespread changes to protect animals raised and slaughtered for human use in the agriculture system.
Now is your chance to speak up for farmed animals! The B.C. government is currently conducting a review of the province’s farmed animal welfare framework. Use the quick action tool below to send a message to B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture.
Help protect farmed animals
In December 2021, the VHS launched a campaign calling for greater protections for farmed animals in B.C. To date,more than 3,700 animal supporters have used the quick action tool to contact the Ministry of Agriculture calling for:
Government-mandated and proactively-enforced compliance with the National Farm Animal Care Council Codes of Practice
Publicly-available reports of independent, third party audits on farms
Consistent video surveillance monitoring on farms
Emergency planning to protect farmed animals in disasters
Please call on B.C.’s Premier and the Minister of Agriculture to take these important actions to better protect farmed animals from cruelty and suffering.
This action has now ended.
4,381 people used this tool to call for meaningful changes to protect farmed animals. Thank you for taking action.
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,626 advocates who used the quick action to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals, including an action calling for widespread changes to protect animals raised and slaughtered for human use in the agriculture system.
Animals suffer as action delayed
More than a month after disturbing footage unveiled horrific animal cruelty at Meadow Valley Meats, a B.C.-based and provincially-licensed slaughterhouse, there are still no updates in the investigation.
Letter asks Province to remove Meadow Valley Meats license
Animal Justice provided the footage to B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Minister stated the situation was being looked into. More than a month later, no further updates have been provided.
The VHS has sent a letter to the Minister supporting Animal Justice’s recent request that the slaughterhouse’s license be suspended or cancelled:
“The video footage shared with the ministry reveals shocking cruelty and captures clear violations of B.C.’s Meat Inspection Regulation, which requires ‘An abattoir licence holder must ensure that an animal in the licensed abattoir is kept before slaughter and slaughtered in accordance with the requirements relating to the humane treatment of animals …'”
Minister @Pam_Alexis_ and the Ministry of Agriculture should cancel or suspend the license for Meadow Valley Meats for their egregious violations of regulations.
Video footage
Content warning: The footage released by Animal Justice depicts horrific animal suffering in a slaughterhouse.
The footage captured numerous instances of animal abuse, suffering and clear violations of provincial and federal slaughter regulations, including cows, sheep and goats beingforcefully hit, kicked, dragged and thrown to the ground; frightened animals crowded together in hallways and panicked attempts to escape; cruel use of an electric prod on the face of cows; improper slaughter techniques, with animals being improperly stunned to render them unconscious before slaughter; and still conscious animals having their necks cut.
Thousands of concerned Canadians have taken action, calling on decision-makers to implement meaningful changes for farmed animals in slaughterhouses.
Quick action: Email the B.C. Minister of Agriculture
Use the quick email tool below to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals in B.C., including:
Proactive enforcement of the Meat Inspection Regulation, which governs provincial slaughterhouses, including appropriate deterrents to prevent animal cruelty and including unannounced inspections;
Publicly-available reports of independent, third-party audits, including consistent video surveillance monitoring for real transparency; and
Effective penalties for industry stakeholders who are found guilty of animal cruelty.
Tip: Personalize your message to make it more impactful! The template below is editable, so feel free to share more about why this issue is important to you.
Live outside of Canada? You can email the Minister at: AF.Minister@gov.bc.ca
This action has now ended.
4,626 people used this tool to call for changes in slaughterhouses. Thank you for taking action.
Next step: Sign the federal action from Animal Justice
Take action to call for improvements to federal regulations around farmed animal care and slaughter in Canada. This quick action from Animal Justice calls on the federal Minister of Agriculture to introduce mandatory video surveillance in slaughterhouses.
Note: This link will take you to the quick action. Scrolling up on the linked page will reveal graphic images of animal suffering.
Petition e-4312 has ended after receiving 17,294 signatures. Thank you to those who took action. You can read updates on the Parliament of Canada website.
“Imagine if we could go back in time to when we first started farming pigs and put an end to that practice then and there. Because pig farming would evolve exponentially into an industry that would kill (often brutally) 1.5 billion animals each year…Chances are, most of us would jump on that opportunity to rewind the clock. Now, we’re at this historic crossroads with octopus farming. While certain countries and companies race to open the first octopus farms, scientists, advocates and policy-makers are pursuing action to ban this practice and protect these sentient creatures from the cruel world of factory farming.” – We Animals Media
As companies around the world have begun to explore industrial-scale octopus (and other cephalopod) farming, a new official federal e-petition aims to ban the practice.
Ban the importation of farmed cephalopod products into Canada
Prohibit the breeding or raising of cephalopods in captivity on Canadian territory
The federal e-petition to say no to the factory farming of these intelligent, behaviourally complex and sensitive animals is now closed.
Important: After you sign the petition, be sure to check your email and click the confirmation link to ensure your signature is counted.
Photo: A Hawaiian day octopus observes visitors during a tour at Kanaloa Octopus Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. The facility confines wild-caught octopuses alone in small tanks to perform breeding experiments on them for the octopus aquaculture industry. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA, 2022. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media
Learn more
Rows of barren tanks at Kanaloa Octopus Farm in Hawaii each confine a single octopus who was caught from the wild. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
Kanaloa Octopus Farm conducts breeding experiments on the Hawaiian day octopus for the aquaculture industry. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
A Hawaiian day octopus reaches for a visitor’s hand during a tour at Kanaloa Octopus Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. The facility confines wild-caught octopuses alone in small tanks to perform breeding experiments on them for the aquaculture industry. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
A covered tank confines a female Hawaiian day octopus, recently captured from the ocean, at Kanaloa Octopus Farm. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
A Hawaiian day octopus is confined in a small tank at Kanaloa Octopus Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii with only a plastic egg for enrichment. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
A Hawaiian day octopus shrinks to the bottom of a small barren tank during a tour at Kanaloa Octopus Farm. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
A Hawaiian day octopus observes visitors during a tour at Kanaloa Octopus Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
Content warning: The following images depict the bodies of deceased octopuses at a processing plant.
A worker at a processing plant, processes octopus bodies with water through specific machines to make them turgid for sale. Selene Magnolia / We Animals Media.
Octopus bodies at a processing plant. Selene Magnolia / We Animals Media.
A worker at a processing plant, processes octopus bodies with water through specific machines to make them turgid for sale. Selene Magnolia / We Animals Media.
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Photos of Kanaloa Octopus Farm: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA, 2022; Laura Lee Cascada / The Every Animal Project / We Animals Media.
Photos of processing plant: Keratsini, Greece, 2020; Selene Magnolia / We Animals Media.
Anyone who has seen the award-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher” can appreciate how smart, curious and sensitive octopuses are. They can recognise individuals outside of their own species, including humans. Field studies have recorded them engaging in tool-using behaviour in the wild and they have also exhibited problem-solving skills, including navigating mazes and solving puzzles.
Octopuses are typically solitary, wild animals, making them particularly ill-suited to being raised in large numbers on industrial farms. Research also demonstrates that octopuses and other cephalopods have complex nervous systems and the ability to experience pain and distress – key hallmarks of sentience.
Industrial octopus farming will also increase unsustainable pressure on wild fish populations, as the industry will require large amounts of fishmeal and fish oil products to feed farmed octopuses.
All of this makes confining these animals in crowded, barren industrial farms especially concerning. Sign the petition calling on the Canadian government to take a stand against the farming of octopuses and other cephalopods.
Advocates introduce federal e-petition
The petition was introduced by the Montreal SPCA and Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and supported by the Vancouver Humane Society, Animal Justice, BC SPCA, Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals, Humane Canada, Last Chance for Animals and Winnipeg Humane Society. Once the petition closes, it will be presented in the House of Commons and the federal government will respond within 45 days of it being presented.
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,626 advocates who used the quick action to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals, including an action calling for widespread changes to protect animals raised and slaughtered for human use in the agriculture system.
B.C. slaughterhouse with connections to previous cruelty case under investigation
Last night, Animal Justice released horrific footage of animal cruelty at Meadow Valley Meats, a slaughterhouse in Pitt Meadows that promotes itself as “local” and its meat products as “ethical”. This footage shows suffering of the worst kind and demonstrates a clear violation of provincial and federal slaughter regulations.
Quick action: Email the B.C. Minister of Agriculture
Use the quick email tool below to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals in B.C., including:
Proactive enforcement of the Meat Inspection Regulation, which governs provincial slaughterhouses, including appropriate deterrents to prevent animal cruelty and including unannounced inspections;
Publicly-available reports of independent, third-party audits, including consistent video surveillance monitoring for real transparency; and
Effective penalties for industry stakeholders who are found guilty of animal cruelty.
Tip: Personalize your message to make it more impactful! The template below is editable, so feel free to share more about why this issue is important to you.
Live outside of Canada? You can email the Minister at: AF.Minister@gov.bc.ca
This action has now ended.
4,626 people used this tool to call for changes in slaughterhouses. Thank you for taking action.
Next step: Sign the federal action from Animal Justice
Take action to call for improvements to federal regulations around farmed animal care and slaughter in Canada. This quick action from Animal Justice calls on the federal Minister of Agriculture to introduce mandatory video surveillance in slaughterhouses.
Note: This link will take you to the quick action. Scrolling up on the linked page will reveal graphic images of animal suffering.
Not the first time Meadow Valley Meats has been in trouble
Meadow Valley Meats is a B.C.-based slaughterhouse company. According to their website, they are the largest B.C. processor of beef, veal, lambs and goats. This footage does not show an isolated incident, but further evidence of systemic problems in the animal agriculture industry from a major local company.
Media reports that the company, formerly called Pitt Meadows Meats, pled guilty in 2015 to selling E. Coli-tainted meat and after the plant manager knowingly decided not to recall the tainted meat. Meadow Valley Meats also lists Jeff and Ken Kooyman as directors. The two men have connections to the infamous 2014 Chilliwack Cattle Sales dairy cruelty case. That investigation revealed staff repeatedly kicking and punching cows, hitting them with canes and ripping out their tail hair. Video footage also showed a cow being lifted by a chain around her neck using a tractor. The company was fined the maximum amount and had to pay $258,700.
These horrific cases reflect what animal advocates have long argued – that there are serious, systemic animal welfare issues across the animal agriculture industry. It also highlights that court-mandated fines are not enough to change the behaviour of the industry and protect animals.
Meadow Valley Meats is responsible for the following brands, many of which are marketed as local, humane, or family farms.
Image: Meadow Valley Meats website
Regulations around animal slaughter
Meadow Valley Meats is regulated by the Provincial Meat Inspection Regulation, which requires that animals are kept & slaughtered “in accordance with the requirements relating to the humane treatment of animals” set forth by the federal government.
The animal agriculture industry and regulating bodies tout requirements of “humane slaughter” to build public trust; but sadly, this claim doesn’t translate to good welfare for animals.
Help raise awareness: watch & share the footage
Content warning: This footage released by Animal Justice to CTV News depicts horrific animal suffering in a slaughterhouse.
The investigation highlights numerous issues at the slaughterhouse, including:
Cows, sheep and goats being forcefully hit, kicked and thrown to the ground;
Frightened animals crowded together in hallways and panicked attempts to escape;
Cruel use of an electric prod on the face of cows;
Improper slaughter techniques, with animals being improperly stunned to render them unconscious before slaughter;
Still conscious animals having their necks cut;
A sheep that appears injured or sick and unable to walk is dragged from a pen to the slaughter area.
