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Transportation Regulations are Changing

This article written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, BCRC Science Director, originally appeared in the January 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted on the BCRC Blog with permission of the publisher.

Photo Credit to Agriculture Agri-Food Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will start phasing in its enforcement of Canada’s revised livestock transportation regulations on February 20. One of the most significant changes for cattle transporters is a reduction in the maximum time in transit before cattle must be off-loaded for feed, water and rest. Currently, cattle can be transported for 48 hours before a mandatory five-hour feed, water and rest stop. There is one exception; if a truck is less than four hours from its final destination when it reaches the 48-hour mark, it can continue to its destination without a rest stop. On February 20, this changes to a maximum of 36 hours before an eight-hour feed, water and rest stop, with no four-hour grace period. This change will likely have the greatest impact on feeder cattle and truckers travelling from Western to Central Canada, and cattle travelling from Central to Western Canada for slaughter.

Canada’s National Farmed Animal Care Council had an expert panel review the state of scientific knowledge and gaps pertaining to livestock transport in 2018. They reported that “there is currently a lack of information on the effectiveness of feed and water rest stops in mitigating the negative welfare, health, and performance effects of long-distance transportation.” Most published cattle rest stop studies used stock trailers carrying 20 calves per load (J. An. Sci. 91:5448-5454 and J. An. Sci. 95:636-644) rather than large cattle liners with professional drivers. One study evaluated 129 commercial cattle liner loads that stopped at a Thunder Bay rest station, how long they stayed, animal loading density, and slips and falls during (un)loading, but not whether animals ate, rested or drank during the stay, or how it impacted their health after arriving at their destination (Animals 2014:62-81).

Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein and Daniela Melendez Suarez of Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Station are leading a Beef Science Cluster study to determine whether feed, water and rest stops during long-distance transport provide measurable benefits to feeder cattle. The first paper from this project has been submitted for publication in PLOS ONE (Effect of transport and rest stop duration on welfare of cattle transported by road.)

In December 2019, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie Claude Bibeau, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced a two-year transition period for the feed, water and rest time interval provisions for bovine and other sectors.

As industry transitions and adapts from the old regulations’ transport times to the new regulations, the CFIA will focus its activities for feed, water and rest times on compliance promotion through education and awareness measures for the first two years.

This education approach will allow the CFIA and industry to continue to work together on effective solutions to identified issues and for livestock sectors to implement any adjustments.

What They Did:

In mid-October 2018, 320 commercial steer calves (570 lbs) were weaned, processed into the research feedlot (vaccinated, antibiotic treatment, parasite control) and adapted to a backgrounding diet. The transportation trial started three weeks later, to make sure that any effects observed were due to transport instead of weaning and/or marketing stress.

The calves were randomized into eight equal groups and transported for 12 or 36 hours (160 head per transport time). Each transport treatment was then rested for 12 hours, 8 hours, 4 hours, or not at all (40 head per transport time / rest time group). Finally, each 40 head group was reloaded and transported for 4 more hours before being unloaded back at the research station. Individual weights, rectal temperatures, blood samples and behavior measurements were collected before the initial loading, when they were unloaded for rest, before they were reloaded, after the final unloading, and 7 hours, 2, 14 and 28 days after the transport ended. Blood samples were analyzed for physiological signs of stress, muscle damage and fatigue, dehydration, energy deficit, inflammation, trauma, infection, and immune responsiveness. Animal health and performance was tracked for four weeks.

What They Learned:

Effects of 12 vs. 36-hour transport: Calves transported for 12 hours generally shrank less, weighed more, ate more and grew faster than the calves transported for 36 hours.

Effects of 0, 4, 8 or 12-hour rest stops: Overall, 96% of steers were alert at unloading, and 99% had no signs of lameness after transport, with no differences due to rest stop duration. After the final unloading, calves rested for 8 or 12 hours weighed more than calves that had less rest. These differences were probably due to gut fill, because they disappeared within seven hours after unloading. The only physiological effect of rest stop time was that unrested steers had higher levels of non-esterified fatty acid in their blood (a sign of low energy levels) at unloading.

Rest stop duration had no effect on feed intake, average daily gain, or animal health over the first month after transport. Only 2.5% (8 head) were treated, 6 for respiratory disease, and one each for footrot and pinkeye.

What it Means:

Rest stop duration did not show a clear benefit for the steers in this study, perhaps because the calves were already weaned, vaccinated, given prophylactic antibiotics and accustomed to feeding from bunks and waterers before they were transported. This might mean that preconditioning is more beneficial for feeder calves than feed, water and rest stops during transport.

A follow-up trial comparing the benefits of rest stops in freshly-weaned vs. preconditioned calves has just been completed and is currently being analyzed. In another part of this study, University of Guelph researchers are working with an Ontario feedlot operator to compare the health of Western calves that stop for feed, water and rest in Thunder Bay to those that travel straight through.

The Beef Research Cluster is funded by the Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with additional contributions from provincial beef industry groups and governments to advance research and technology transfer supporting the Canadian beef industry’s vision to be recognized as a preferred supplier of healthy, high quality beef, cattle and genetics.

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Comments


Blair GilmoreJanuary 17, 2020

Here's maybe some obvious questions: so if there is little to no research on the topic, why are the regulations changing? Who is behind this push to reduce travel time between rest stops? Is this perhaps just a political agenda pushed by animal rights activists?

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Beef Research3February 11, 2020

Hi Blair,

According to a recent news release from the CFIA “the amendments are the product of extensive consultations with farm groups, transporters, members of the public and interested groups, which resulted in an unprecedented number of responses to the CFIA's proposals (more than 51,000 submissions). They also take into account the latest research on animal transportation and international standards. By establishing clear and science-informed requirements, the regulations better reflect the needs of animals and improve overall animal welfare in Canada.” https://www.canada.ca/en/food-inspection-agency/news/2019/02/government-of-canada-announces-changes-to-humane-transport-requirements-under-the-health-of-animals-regulations.html

The CFIA has informed industry that they are always monitoring and considering new research, thus amendments to the regulations are possible if new research provides evidence for needed changes.

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Sandy WaltersJanuary 19, 2020

I am happy to hear that we are moving in the right direction, but it seems we still have a ways to go. I couldn’t imagine standing for 48 hours... And as I watch my cattle graze the fields, they too rest much more than that. We are lucky enough to transport ours for only an hour am a half.

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Beef Research3February 11, 2020

Hi Sandy,

The research completed to date indicates that short trips are easier on cattle than long trips. What we don’t know is whether interrupting a long-distance trip with an 8-hour break provides benefits for cattle. Is the loading/re-loading more stressful than staying on the truck? Do they actually eat, drink and rest? If they don’t, then all we’ve done is extended the time they’re without feed, water and rest by another 8 hours. The BCRC is currently funding research to answer these questions in commercial cattle being transported across Canada.

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Tanya DrakeJanuary 20, 2020

I have heard rumors that all transport drivers must have a current CLT Certificate. Is this in the works?

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Beef Research3February 11, 2020

Thanks for the question Tanya.

This certainly isn’t a CFIA requirement and the regulations don’t specify whether the training has to be taken through CLT. The new CFIA regulations state:

Training
138.1 (1) Every commercial carrier shall provide training to, or ensure that training is received by, its employees and agents or mandataries who load, confine or transport an animal in or unload an animal from a conveyance or container or who take part in decision making, or advising the person operating the conveyance, in respect of the loading, confining, transporting or unloading of an animal so that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct those activities in compliance with this Part.

(2) The training shall cover subjects that include the following in respect of the species of animals that are to be loaded, confined, transported and unloaded:
• (a) animal behaviour;
• (b) an assessment of an animal’s capacity to withstand loading, confinement, transport and unloading;
• (c) animal handling, restraint and space requirements and methods for the loading, confinement, transport and unloading of animals;
• (d) a contingency plan;
• (e) effective monitoring of animals during loading, confinement, transport and unloading; and
• (f) the risk factors set out in subsection 138.3(1).

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