Animal protection and mass depopulation.

This case study-based paper outlines the thought processes linked to the ethical decision in Canadian animal protection work, about when a case warrants investigation as an offence under provincial animal protection legislation and when it is a criminal code offence. Conflict of laws and jurisdiction as well as prosecutorial discretion give us cause to consider whether methods of mass depopulation of animals in emergency situations can breach prohibitions against animal cruelty. The current practice of overheating enclosed holding facilities to intentionally kill pigs by induced heat stroke is, in the authors' opinions, an action consistent with a general understanding of animal cruelty.

Protection animale et dépeuplement massif. Cet article, basé sur des études de cas, décrit les processus de réflexion liés à la décision éthique dans le travail de protection des animaux au Canada, à savoir quand un cas justifie une enquête en tant qu'infraction en vertu de la législation provinciale sur la protection des animaux et quand il s'agit d'une infraction au Code criminel. Les conflits de lois et de juridiction ainsi que le pouvoir discrétionnaire des poursuites nous amènent à nous demander si les méthodes de dépeuplement massif d'animaux dans des situations d'urgence peuvent enfreindre les interdictions contre la cruauté envers les animaux. La pratique actuelle consistant à surchauffer les installations de détention fermées pour tuer intentionnellement des porcs par coup de chaleur induit est, selon les auteurs, une action conforme à une compréhension générale de la cruauté envers les animaux.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Why must we rush to bury our dead (pigs): The option of excarnation by exposure.

The accepted paradigm of foreign animal disease preparedness in Canada, the emergency for which to prepare, starts with identification of the exotic viral agent in a Canadian farm animal population. This narrative focuses on the containment of the infectious agent, within diseased animals, on infected premises. Framing the emergency as a disease incursion limits rational imagination to only one version of one potential animal emergency. This framing of the problem directs the carcass disposal solutions to consider only methods to dispose of viral infected material. However, in all documented responses to catastrophic swine diseases in the past three decades, the number of uninfected animals caught up in movement control zones and killed greatly exceeds the number of infected animals killed. The temporary closures of slaughterhouses in spring 2020 due to COVID-19 transmission resulted in thousands of healthy market hogs surplus to market; an unanticipated emergency of healthy pigs. This paper proposes an alternate carcass disposal option for material from uninfected farms. "Excarnation by exposure" is a natural process of debulking and dehydrating carcasses by blow fly larvae, mitigating financial costs of final disposal. Excarnation by exposure is a reasonable and possibly necessary additional option for the management of uninfected carcasses in a catastrophic emergency response in commercial pigs.

Pourquoi faut-il se précipiter pour enterrer nos morts (cochons): L'option de l'excarnation par exposition. Le paradigme accepté de la préparation aux maladies animales exotiques au Canada, l'urgence à laquelle il faut se préparer, commence par l'identification de l'agent viral exotique dans une population d'animaux d'élevage au Canada. Ce scénario se concentre sur le confinement de l'agent infectieux, au sein d'animaux malades, dans des locaux infectés. Présenter l'urgence comme une incursion de maladie, limite l'imagination rationnelle à une seule version d'une urgence animale potentielle. Ce cadrage du problème incite les solutions d'élimination des carcasses à ne considérer que les méthodes d'élimination du matériel infecté par le virus. Cependant, dans toutes les réponses documentées aux maladies porcines catastrophiques au cours des trois dernières décennies, le nombre d'animaux non infectés inclus dans les zones de contrôle des déplacements et tués dépasse largement le nombre d'animaux infectés tués. Les fermetures temporaires d'abattoirs au printemps 2020 en raison de la transmission de COVID-19 ont entraîné des milliers de porcs de marché sains excédentaires sur le marché; une urgence imprévue de porcs sains. Cet article propose une autre option d'élimination des carcasses pour le matériel provenant de fermes non infectées. L'« excarnation par exposition ¼ est un processus naturel de réduction et de déshydratation des carcasses par les larves de mouches à viande, ce qui atténue les coûts financiers de l'élimination finale. L'excarnation par exposition est une option supplémentaire raisonnable et peut-être nécessaire pour la gestion des carcasses non infectées lors d'une intervention d'urgence catastrophique chez les porcs commerciaux.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Veterinary Practice - The Canadian multinational veterinary workforce.

The veterinary profession, from acceptance to veterinary college to retirement, has experienced extensive organizational change in the past 3 decades. This paper is an attempt to understand the context and complexity of national workforce planning in veterinary medicine in Canada. It identifies the obvious practical and ethical considerations, exposing inherent problems in guiding the future of the profession. The discourse concludes there is a structural deficiency in veterinary education program capacity in Canada (practical fact) and Canadian youth may have increasingly difficult access to tertiary education (ethical concern). Adaptation, rather than planning, characterizes current practices in which migration of foreign-trained veterinarians mitigates the structural deficiency in training capacity. Due to the pervasive adoption of neo-liberal marketing principles in tertiary education, a nationally self-sufficient Canadian veterinary college infrastructure is an unlikely future possibility. Our current system, reliant on migration of internationally trained professionals, raises questions of global justice and individual rights. Strategic solutions require reflection on veterinary professional identity, broad discussion, and a commitment to a rigorous concept of professional responsibilities, global citizenship, and the public good.

Pratique vétérinaire ­ La main-d'oeuvre vétérinaire multinationale canadienne. La profession vétérinaire, de l'admission au collège vétérinaire à la retraite, a connu des changements organisationnels importants au cours des trois dernières décennies. Cet article tente de comprendre le contexte et la complexité de la planification nationale de la main-d'oeuvre en médecine vétérinaire au Canada. Il identifie les considérations pratiques et éthiques évidentes, exposant les problèmes inhérents à l'orientation de l'avenir de la profession. Le discours conclut qu'il existe une déficience structurelle dans la capacité des programmes d'enseignement vétérinaire au Canada (fait pratique) et que les jeunes Canadiens peuvent avoir un accès de plus en plus difficile à l'enseignement supérieur (préoccupation éthique). L'adaptation plutôt que la planification caractérise les pratiques actuelles dans lesquelles la migration des vétérinaires formés à l'étranger atténue le déficit structurel de la capacité de formation. En raison de l'adoption généralisée des principes de marketing néolibéraux dans l'enseignement supérieur, une infrastructure de collège vétérinaire canadien autosuffisante à l'échelle nationale est une possibilité future peu probable. Notre système actuel, dépendant de la migration de professionnels formés à l'étranger, soulève des questions de justice mondiale et de droits individuels. Les solutions stratégiques nécessitent une réflexion sur l'identité professionnelle vétérinaire, une large discussion et un engagement envers un concept rigoureux de responsabilités professionnelles, de citoyenneté mondiale et de bien public.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Achieving humane outcomes in killing livestock by free bullet II: Target selection.

Killing infected or surplus-to-market livestock by free bullet is unavoidable in Foreign Animal Disease response in countries exporting large numbers of live animals. Correct targeting and placement of free bullet projectiles result in immediate death, thereby making this method acceptable for humane animal killing. Regulatory veterinarians will be responsible for animal welfare in overseeing emergency killing of livestock by free bullet. To assure humane fatal penetrating brain injury under field conditions, veterinarians as operational experts, need to fully understand the anatomy of all farmed animals and the pathophysiology of the terminal ballistics of weapon systems to make appropriate, on the ground decisions, in emergency situations.

Atteinte de résultats humanitaires lors de l'abattage de bovins par balles de fusil II : Sélection de la cible. L'abattage par balles de fusil de bovins infectés ou en excès pour le marché est inévitable lors de la réponse à l'apparition d'une maladie exotique dans les pays exportant de grandes quantités d'animaux vivants. La mise-enjoue et le placement appropriés de balles de fusil résultent en mort immédiate, rendant ainsi cette méthode acceptable pour l'abattage humanitaire d'animaux. Les vétérinaires d'agences réglementaires seront responsables du bien-être animal en supervisant l'abattage d'urgence par balles des bovins. Afin d'assurer une blessure cérébrale pénétrante fatale dans des conditions de terrain, en tant qu'experts opérationnels, les vétérinaires doivent comprendre à fond l'anatomie de tous les animaux de la ferme et la pathophysiologie de la balistique terminale des armes afin de prendre les décisions appropriées sur le terrain lors de situations d'urgence.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Achieving humane outcomes in killing livestock by free bullet I: Penetrating brain injury.

Humane killing of farm animals by free bullet is a commonly used second-best option in emergency situations and disease control operations. Theoretical justification has been weak in experimental reports of firearm system use in the field. Veterinarians require an in-depth understanding of killing with free bullet to take corrective action when systems fail under field application. This review describes the technical considerations in choosing safe, effective firearm systems to effectively kill minimally restrained livestock at close range. Frequently referenced firearm/bullet recommendations are excessively powerful and unnecessarily hazardous. Based on ballistic energetic performance and mechanical design, the rifle chambered for low energy pistol ammunition, using non-toxic controlled expanding bullets, has the technical capability to deliver immediate insensibility and death at a distance of 5 m or less. At 1 m distance, the .410 shotgun with steel or porcelain shot meets the environmental safety, ballistic, and mechanical challenges and has workplace safety advantages over rifle-based systems.

Atteinte de résultats non cruels lors de l'abattage du bétail par balle libre. I : lésion cérébrale par pénétration. L'abattage sans cruauté des animaux de ferme par balle libre est une option de deuxième choix communément utilisée dans des situations d'urgence et des opérations de maitrise des maladies. La justification théorique a été faible dans les rapports expérimentaux sur l'utilisation de systèmes d'armes à feu sur le terrain. Les vétérinaires ont besoin d'une compréhension approfondie de l'abattage par balle libre afin de prendre des mesures correctrices lors de l'échec des systèmes dans l'application sur le terrain. Ce compte rendu décrit les considérations techniques pour le choix de systèmes d'armes à feu efficaces afin de tuer efficacement à courte distance du bétail retenu de façon minimale. Les recommandations fréquemment mentionnées pour les armes et les balles sont excessivement puissantes et inutilement dangereuses. Selon la performance énergétique balistique et la conception mécanique, l'arme à feu chambrée pour des munitions de pistolet à faible énergie, en utilisant des balles à expansion contrôlée non toxiques, possède la capacité technique d'infliger une insensibilité immédiate et la mort à une distance de 5 m ou moins. À une distance de 1 m, le fusil .410 avec de la grenaille d'acier ou de porcelaine satisfait aux exigences en matière d'environnement, de balistique et de mécanique et présente des avantages pour la sécurité au travail par rapport aux systèmes à carabines.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Is a "Good Death" at the Time of Animal Slaughter an Essentially Contested Concept?

The phrase "essentially contested concept" (ECC) entered the academic literature in 1956 in an attempt to better characterize certain contentious concepts of political theory. Commonly identified examples of contested concepts are morality, religion, democracy, science, nature, philosophy, and certain types of creative products such as the novel and art. The structure proposed to identify an ECC has proven useful in a wide variety of deliberative discourse in the social, political, and religious arenas where seemingly intractable but productive debates are found. Where a strongly held moral position is contradicted by law, a portion of the citizenry see the law as illegitimate and do not feel compelled to respect it. This paper will attempt to apply the analytic structure of ECC to the concept of animal wellbeing at the time of slaughter specifically a "good death." The results of this analysis supports an understanding that the current slaughter debate is a disagreement in moral belief and normative moral theory. The parties to the dispute have differing visions of the "good." The method of slaughter is not an essentially contested concept where further discourse is likely to result in a negotiated resolution. The position statements of veterinary organizations are used as an example of current discourse.

Policing Farm Animal Welfare in Federated Nations: The Problem of Dual Federalism in Canada and the USA.

In recent European animal welfare statutes, human actions injurious to animals are new "offences" articulated as an injury to societal norms in addition to property damage. A crime is foremost a violation of a community moral standard. Violating a societal norm puts society out of balance and justice is served when that balance is returned. Criminal law normally requires the presence of mens rea, or evil intent, a particular state of mind; however, dereliction of duties towards animals (or children) is usually described as being of varying levels of negligence but, rarely can be so egregious that it constitutes criminal societal injury. In instrumental justice, the "public goods" delivered by criminal law are commonly classified as retribution, incapacitation and general deterrence. Prevention is a small, if present, outcome of criminal justice. Quazi-criminal law intends to establish certain expected (moral) standards of human behavior where by statute, the obligations of one party to another are clearly articulated as strict liability. Although largely moral in nature, this class of laws focuses on achieving compliance, thereby resulting in prevention. For example, protecting the environment from degradation is a benefit to society; punishing non-compliance, as is the application of criminal law, will not prevent the injury. This paper will provide evidence that the integrated meat complex of Canada and the USA is not in a good position to make changes to implement a credible farm animal protection system.

Explanatory model of cattle death by starvation in Manitoba: forensic evaluation.

Cattle death by starvation is a persistent annual event in Manitoba. Herds with more than 10% overwinter death loss are usually identified in the late winter or early spring. Field and postmortem findings suggest that there is complete mobilization of fat followed by inability to maintain adequate thermoregulation and death by cardiac arrest. Carcasses show only mild evidence of muscle catabolism and are in excellent preservation if located prior to or around the time of spring thaw. A forensic diagnosis of death by starvation-induced exposure can be made with a high level of confidence when considering field data, whole carcass appearance, and postmortem evaluation of residual fat stores.

Modèle explicatif de la mort de bovins par inanition au Manitoba : évaluation médico-légale. La mort de bovins par inanition est une occurrence annuelle constante au Manitoba. Les troupeaux ayant plus de 10 % de mortalités pendant l'hiver sont habituellement identifiés à la fin de l'hiver ou au début du printemps. Les résultats sur le terrain et lors des autopsies suggèrent que la mort est causée par une mobilisation complète des graisses suivie d'une incapacité à maintenir une thermorégulation adéquate et de la mort par arrêt cardiaque. Les carcasses présentent seulement des preuves faibles de catabolisme musculaire et sont très bien préservées si elles sont repérées avant ou vers le moment du dégel printanier. Un diagnostic médico-légal de mort par exposition induite par inanition peut être posé avec un niveau de confiance élevé lorsque l'on considère les données sur le terrain, l'apparence des carcasses entières et l'évaluation des graisses résiduelles à l'autopsie.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Evaluation of methods of rapid mass killing of segregated early weaned piglets.

The operational logistics of mass killing of healthy, surplus piglets by manual blunt force trauma, controlled blunt force trauma, intraperitoneal injection of barbiturate, and free bullet were recorded. Objective performance variables evaluated were, speed of application, human resource and input cost, animal restraint required, and failure rate. Subjective evaluation of esthetics and difficulty of application indicated manual blunt force trauma is an unacceptable technique. Under field conditions, physical methods of killing were superior to intraperitoneal injection of concentrated pentobarbital. Considering animal welfare metrics in isolation, controlled blunt force trauma was superior to all other techniques attempted.

Herd risk factors associated with sero-prevalence of Maedi-Visna in the Manitoba sheep population.

Disease associated with Maedi-Visna infection results in substantial economic losses in affected sheep producing areas of the world. A survey was conducted to estimate herd and individual seroprevalence in the province of Manitoba and evaluate risk factors for seropositive herds. Of 2207 sheep sampled from 77 selected sheep flocks, the animal level seroprevalence was 2.47% and herd level seroprevalence was 25.10%. The herd-level factors of presence of clinical skin disease, herd size of > 70, history of musculoskeletal/lameness abnormalities, and the purchase of new stock (> 50) in the last 1 to 5 y, showed significant associations with seropositive herd status. The study documented a remarkable stability of low seroprevalence in the province over a 20-year period in the absence of a systematic disease control program.

Prevalence and distribution of Baylisascaris procyonis in urban raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis was estimated in the urban raccoon population of Winnipeg through the fecal flotation of raccoon feces collected at active latrines and through gross postmortem and fecal flotation of samples collected from nuisance raccoons. Fecal flotation of latrine-collected feces was positive in 33 of 89 samples and, of 52 latrines identified, 26 were positive on 1 or more occasions. Trapped individual raccoons subjected to postmortem examination were positive in 57 of 114 animals captured. Comparing a single fecal flotation to the gold standard of finding adult worms in the small intestine had a sensitivity of 78.9% and specificity of 92.9%. This study suggests that carriage of Baylisascaris procyonis is widespread in raccoons in the Winnipeg urban ecosystem. Raccoon latrines in Winnipeg should be treated as infectious sites and efforts should be made to limit access of pets and people at risk to those sites.

Increased number of skin lesions as a measure of aggression following the mixing of slaughter boars from western Canada assembled for export.

A preliminary observational study was conducted to evaluate the animal welfare impacts of holding and mixing on boars; specifically, the need to tusk trim on arrival at assembly. Cull boars assembled in Manitoba from 3 western Canadian provinces were observed without intervention. Although aggression among boars was common, significant physical injury to boars from handling and other boars was rare. Tusk trimming was widely practised in mature boars prior to transport in the population studied. Length of time assembled, number of boars in a pen, temperature, size of boar, and presence of tusk were not associated with change in the skin score of new boars introduced into a pen. Holding groups of previously unfamiliar boars en route to slaughter did not appear to be a significant risk for increased skin lesions in the population studied. Further research is required into the methods and welfare implications to boars subjected to tusk trimming.

Isolated weaning technology: humane benefits and concerns in the production of pork.

The age at which piglets are separated from the sow has been identified as an animal welfare risk in current swine production systems. Animal welfare gains of a minimal disease state must be objectively balanced against the welfare costs of early weaning. Veterinary practitioners should continue to participate in the development and validation of humane animal production methods.

Special welfare concerns in countries dependent on live animal trade: the real foreign animal disease emergency for Canada.

Any outbreak of an Office International des Epizooties trade-disrupting (previously List-A) disease, such as classical swine fever or foot and mouth disease in a previously disease-free region can have severe consequences for nonhuman animal welfare. In addition to animals destroyed for the purposes of disease eradication, certain preexisting trade patterns may result in welfare slaughter programs affecting many more animals than the disease eradication effort. Welfare slaughter is the destruction of healthy animals to prevent overcrowding on farms under movement restriction and as a consequence of loss of access to live animal export markets. Governments of European countries have anticipated welfare slaughter as part of their disease eradication preparedness. The concept of welfare slaughter and the resource implications thereof have not been included in current, published, livestock disease emergency-planning documents in Canada or the United States. Animal welfare, specifically the killing of healthy animals (not foreign animal disease eradication) has been the focus of public concern in recent disease-eradication efforts in Europe. North American organizations responsible for livestock exotic disease emergency preparedness need to expand their plans to include welfare slaughter.