animal welfare and livestock handling in the meat industry · roger driscoll iss institute/tafe ......

Animal Welfare and Livestock Handling in the Meat Industry

InternationalSpecialised Skills Institute Inc

ISS Institute Inc.2006 ©

Roger DriscollISS Institute/TAFE Fellowship

Fellowship funded by OTTE, Victorian Government

ISS Fellowship Report 2

Published by International Specialised Skills Institute, Melbourne. ISS Institute 101/685 Burke Road Camberwell 3124 AUSTRALIA 2006 Also extract published on www.issinstitute.org.au © Copyright ISS Institute 2006 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Whilst this report has been accepted by ISS Institute, ISS Institute cannot provide expert peer review of the report, and except as may be required by law no responsibility can be accepted by ISS Institute for the content of the report, or omissions, typographical, print or photographic errors, or inaccuracies that may occur after publication or otherwise. ISS Institute do not accept responsibility for the consequences of any action taken or omitted to be taken by any person as a consequence of anything contained in, or omitted from, this report.


Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgements p4

Awarding body - ISS Institute

Fellowship sponsor/s

Supporting Organisations

About the Fellow p7

2. Fellowship Program p10

Aim of the Fellowship

The Skills/Knowledge Gaps

3. The Australian Context p10

4. The Overseas Program. p11

5. Recommendations p27

Government

Industry

Business

Professional associations

Education and training Community

ISS Institute

Conclusion


1. Acknowledgements Awarding Body – ISS Institute. The International Skills Institute Inc (ISS Institute). The ISS Institute is an independent organisation that provides opportunities for Australian Industry and Commerce to acquire knowledge, skills and experience in the areas of, traditional and leading edge technology, management or design. The Institute identifies skills gaps and provides solutions through overseas Fellowship programmes, education and training. We know that Australia’s economic future is reliant upon high level skills and knowledge, underpinned by design and innovation. Since 1989 International Specialised Skills Institute Inc (ISS Institute), an independent, national organisation, has provided opportunities for Australian industry and commerce to gain best-in-the-world skills and experience in traditional and leading-edge technology, design, innovation and management. Carolynne Bourne AM, ISS Institute, CEO, uses her formula to illustrate the links, skills + knowledge + good design + innovation + communication = competitive edge • good business Based on ISS Institute’s initial market research in 1990, an important category emerged, that of ‘skill deficiency’. Skill deficiency is where a demand for labour has not been recognised and where accredited courses are not available through Australian higher education institutions. This demand is met where skills and knowledge are acquired on-the job, gleaned from published material, or from working and/or study overseas. This is the key area targeted by ISS Institute. Other ISS definitions are:

• Skill shortage is when there is a unmet and recognised demand for labour.

• Innovation Creating and meeting new needs with new technical and

design styles. [New realities of lifestyle.] • Design is problem solving. From concept to production through to

recycling. Design involves every aspect from the way the receptionist answers the phone, when invoices are sent out, where a machine sits on the factory floor, what trees are grown in the forest suitable for furniture or flooring, to whether the product is orange or blue, round or square, flat packed for export, displayed in a retail outlet and the market research to target customers’ needs and wants - creating products or services.


Overseas Skill Acquisition Plan (Fellowship Program) Skill deficiencies are filled by building global partnerships through our Overseas Skill Acquisition Plan - Fellowship Program. Australian Fellows travel overseas, or overseas Fellows travel to Australia. Upon their return to Australia, Fellows pass on what they have learnt through education and training activities such as workshops, conferences, lecturers, forums, seminars and events developed and implemented by ISS Institute, therein ensuring that for each Fellowship, many benefit - the multiplier effect. ISS undertakes research, marketing, policy and advocacy. The findings from the Fellows reports and those acquired through our research and education and training activities are made available to firms, industry, commerce, learning institutions and public authorities through ISS Research Institute’s consultancy services – again, the multiplier effect. ISS Institute operations are directed towards bringing skills (traditional and leading-edge technologies) and knowledge to Australian industries, education and government and, in turn, the community in general - new ways of thinking, new ways of working so as to create innovative products and services for local and global markets. Our holistic approach takes us to working across occupations and industry sectors and building bridges along the way. The result has been highly effective in the creation of new business, the development of existing business and the return of lost skills and knowledge to our workforce, thus creating jobs - whereby individuals gain; industry and business gain; the Australian community gains economically, educationally and culturally. Carolynne Bourne AM CEO ISS Institute P 61 3 9882 0055 Suite 101 F 61 3 9882 9866 685 Burke Rd E [email protected] Camberwell 3124 Australia W www.issinstitute.org.au International Specialist Skills Institute (ISSI) is an innovative, independent organisation that identifies and fills skill and knowledge gaps within industry sectors and enterprises where the means of doing so are not available through existing industry, government programs or Australian TAFE institutes or universities.


Fellowship Sponsor. - Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE). OTTE is responsible under the Vocational Education and Training Act (1990) for the promotion, planning, coordination and administration of vocational training in Victoria.

It advises the Minister for Education and Training on a range of matters, including strategies to complement Victorian and national economic and social development.

OTTE is responsible for overseeing the administration and coordination of programs for the provision of:

• Training and further education, • Adult community education, and • Employment services in Victoria.

In 1999, OTTE became the major sponsor of the ISS Institute for a period of three years. The agreement has been renewed for a further three years.

Mentors -

• Steve Dinkla (Client Manager, Cargill Food Solutions) • Dan Schnitker (Plant Manager, Excel Beef, Dodge City KS)

Advice and assistance received from:

• Clive Richardson - MINTRAC (Meat Industry Training Advisory Council)

• Jon Hayes – Australian Meat Industry Council

Relevant organisations:

• MINTRAC (Meat Industry Training Advisory Council) • Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) involved in

meat industry training • Australian Meat Industry Council

• Australian Quarantine Inspection Service – regulator

• AUS-MEAT Ltd – contracted auditors for US processors


About the Fellow Roger Graeme Driscoll 102 Morrissey Street MERRIGUM Vic 3618 Phone & Fax: (03) 5855 2327 Mobile: 0427 332152 Email: [email protected] Accreditations Lead Assessor (ISO) - Certificate No.95/A93673S/2771 Training Provider - International Meat & Poultry HACCP Alliance, College Station, Texas. HACCP Practitioner - W A Health Department Auditor – Australian Renderers Association Inc. Facilitator/Auditor – Australian Pork Industry Quality Program Certificate 4 Workplace Trainer/Assessor - Southbank TAFE, Brisbane Senior Food Safety Auditor (QSA) – Reg No.9373. Functional summary Extensive experience in quality related project management roles, having had forty years experience in regulatory, auditing, evaluation, R & D, training and Quality Assurance consulting roles within the meat, livestock and broader food industries. Employment Bank of New South Wales Victoria Three years of general branch duties. Family Retail Business Portland, Victoria Managed family business for eight months


Thomas Borthwick & Sons (A/asia) P/L Portland and Melbourne Tally boner/slicer, administrator and supervisor. Department of Primary Industries & Energy Melbourne Twenty-seven years with DPIE and its predecessors. as a Meat Inspector engaged in organoleptic inspection of food animals, management of a district within the service and co-ordinating early Quality Assurance programs.

SGS Australia Pty Ltd Melbourne Assisted in planning and establishing a contestable audit protocol for the Victorian domestic meat industry following deregulation. Performed 200+ audits on abattoirs, further processors, knackeries, pet food manufacturers, poultry processing establishments, food storage facilities and retail pet meat premises. Australian Meat Technology Pty Ltd (AMT) Brisbane For 3.5 years employed by AMT as Project Leader - Quality Systems. Responsible for the implementation of an internal ISO 9001 system. My roles included:

• Designing and implementing HACCP-based Quality Systems • Reviewing and refining existing systems • Conducting process evaluations • Validating critical process parameters-particularly time/temperature • Validating the microbiological status of suspect product • Industry training, both at operative and key personnel levels • Conducting internal audit training and performing trial audits • Facilitating workplace reform practices-self managed work groups

and performance based remuneration • Technology transfer through production of pamphlets, journal

articles and newsletters • Designing and developing Training Modules for MINTRAC.

Training

Developed and delivered training modules as part of the facilitation activities mentioned above, also developed and delivered separate training packages in:

• HACCP (course accredited with the International Meat & Poultry • HACCP Alliance) • Hygienic processing and QA principles


• Internal auditing • Basic microbiology for meat plants

Food Science Australia Brisbane One year as a meat industry advisor within the Meat Industry Services Section. Participated in R & D projects involving

• Evaluation of current and novel approaches to stunning, immobilization/stimulation and oesophagus occlusion in smallstock

• The incidence of dermoid cysts in cattle (Australian Veterinary Journal 2001)

• time/temperature parameters for hot boning. Responsible for technology transfer activities, including production of a series of information brochures relating to boning room design and meat packaging systems. Chisholm TAFE Melbourne Initiated and managed training and assessment in Cert 2/3 Meat Processing at Cootamundra, Yanco, Junee, Gundagai, Nathalia, Deniliquin and Tongala. Program Co-ordinator for Northern Region, overseeing training at above plants plus Hazeldene’s Chicken Farms at Bendigo & WV Management at Wodonga. Experienced in the delivery of training and assessment in processing and retail sectors of the meat industry and in food service and supermarket fresh food handling areas. Goulburn Ovens TAFE Shepparton Meat Training Manager. Delivering training and assessment in Cert 2/3 Meat Processing at Tongala Overseeing similar delivery at major processing plants in Wodonga and Cobram


2. The Fellowship Program

Aim of the Fellowship To gain knowledge of latest international attitudes to livestock handling and animal welfare issues. To apply the knowledge gained to upgrade the structured training of Australian industry animal handlers. Skill and Knowledge Gaps The Australian meat industry needs to fully aware of current international standards and expectations in this sensitive area of livestock handling and animal welfare issues. This is to enable the meat industry to respond quickly to changing attitudes of consumers. Quick response times to these changing attitudes is necessary because all stake holders in the “Paddock to Plate” chain will be adversely impacted if negative consumer perception of animal welfare issues leads (as it inevitably must) to reduced consumption of red meat. Knowledge gained will allow training delivered to livestock handlers to meet current international criteria for animal welfare.

3. The Australian Context

The Australian export meat industry must have best practice animal handling procedures in place to maintain market access for its product.

US meat processors are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their industry does not tolerate cruelty to domestic livestock. US regulators, principally US Department of Agriculture, are demanding that suppliers demonstrate a commitment to animal welfare. Major US retailers (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Yum Brands) are also independently auditing suppliers. Most of the meat industry’s major trading partners follow the lead of the US regulators and will not trade with us should we lose our US accreditation. The domestic industry also needs to maintain a similar standard to be able to demonstrate to consumer groups and animal rights activists that cruel and inhumane practices are not endemic and will not be tolerated in meat processing facilities. Red meat’s share of the domestic protein market is shrinking and any adverse publicity will only exacerbate the situation. The traditional “High Street Butcher” is almost extinct due to the predatory supermarket duopoly. The impact of declining sales and compressed saleyard prices for their cattle will impact severely on graziers and finishers.


4. The Overseas Context

Destinations - Itinerary:

Excel Beef Corporation plant (a division of Cargill Meat Solutions Ltd), Dodge City Ks. Second largest beef processor in the US with a throughput of 6000 cattle daily. Manager Dan Schnitker American Meat Institute Foundation’s 2006 International Meat Animal Welfare Research Conference. Kansas City, Ks. Keynote speaker Dr Graheme Coleman – Monash University, Melbourne American Meat Institute Foundation’s 2006 Animal Care & Handling Conference, Kansas City, Ks. Keynote speaker Dr Temple Grandin – Colorado State University

Excel Beef Corporation The Dodge City plant is a large modern facility processing six thousand head of cattle daily over two shifts at a rate of 390 per hour. The largest Australian processor works at less than half of this rate of throughput.

The animal handling facilities are “state of the art” and were designed by Dr. Grandin. Cattle are sourced from feedyards within a twenty-mile radius. A constant shuttle of single deck stock transports bring stock to a relatively small holding area on plant.

Holding pens are designed to hold small numbers of cattle, minimising the mixing of different groups of companion animals and thus lowering stress levels.

Holding pens are arranged in a herringbone pattern feeding a central lane to facilitate easy movement and minimise bruise hazards. All animal movement is controlled from raised walkways, with no direct animal/human contact.


A view over Excel holding pens to a large feedyard on the horizon Another Grandin innovation seen below to good effect is the serpentine race leading to the stunning station. The practical benefits of the race design and the centre-track restrainer are readily apparent when you consider that 390 animals per hour are processed with two stockpersons pushing cattle up to a single stunner operator.

A serpentine stock race. Note the absence of blind corners.


Notable features of stock handling procedures include:

• Prohibition of the use of dogs in moving livestock • Minimal use of electric prodders – only two prodders on plant

(one in receiving area and one at stunning station). Any usage of prodders is logged and records monitored

The Grandin Audit Protocol used to audit Australian suppliers twice yearly is incorporated into Excel’s monitoring schedule and is applied once per shift ie twice daily. Training In house training is provided and is regarded as commercially sensitive. No national competency standards exist.


International Meat Animal Welfare Research Conference

The American Meat Institute Foundation held it’s annual International Meat Animal Welfare Research Conference at the Kansas City Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas on 22nd February 2006.

The keynote speaker was Dr Graheme Coleman from Monash University, Melbourne. Dr Coleman was standing in for his colleague Dr Paul Hemsworth from Melbourne University who was incapacitated.

Dr Coleman’s address was titled “Human and animal interaction and welfare issues at the farm level”. He highlighted the fact that community interest in the housing and handling of farm animals is a recent phenomenon and that many people now see these issues as ethically contentious.

Salient points made in Dr Coleman’s address include:

• Domestication is an evolutionary process by which captive

animals adapt to humans and the environment provided by humans. The symbiotic relationship is far more beneficial to humans

• Farm animals, research animals and pets provide a range of

health benefits for humanity

• Human-animal interaction can have profound effects on the behaviour and stress physiology of animals

• Attitudes and behaviour of stock handlers have an impact on

animal welfare and productivity

• Despite the anthropomorphic behaviour ascribed to animals (particularly pets), animals display only three basic emotions – fear, anger and contentedness

• Fear is the most powerful emotion experienced by the domestic

animal and triggers the “fight or flight” instinct of its wild ancestors

• This response activates the autonomic nervous and the

neuroendoctrine systems with a corresponding rise in stress levels

• The negative relationship between fear and productivity is well

established

• Research indicates a differential of up to 5% in productivity (milk yield) directly attributable to housing and handling practices


• Selecting empathetic stock handlers was more important than subsequent training.

Dr Coleman claimed that while few examples of overt cruelty were observed, many ingrained practices among stock handlers lead to fear and stress in their animals. He evoked the image of the archetypal Victorian dairy farmer “born with a length of poly pipe in his right hand.” Drs Coleman and Hemsworth have spent many years researching animal behaviour and a wealth of statistical data was presented to support their hypotheses. Dr Coleman concluded that understanding stockperson behaviour and the attitudes underpinning it was the key to manipulating human-animal interactions to improve animal welfare.


Response to empathetic approach Dr Stanley E. Curtis, Professor of Animal Science, University of Illinois addressed the conference on aspects of pig husbandry, particularly the housing and environmental conditions of intensively reared pigs. Dr Curtis is colloquially known in US farming circles as the “Temple Grandin of the Hog Industry”, and has devoted a lifetime’s work to research into pig behaviour. He spoke briefly on the animal-human interaction and supported Dr Coleman’s conclusions. His address concentrated on the effects of housing and environmental conditions on pig stress levels and the impact on productivity. Dr Curtis claimed that pigs in the US were achieving less than 70% of their genetic potential due to poor environmental design, construction and operation. He contended that provision of adequate pen space, temperature control and floor level draught control would dramatically improve the contentment levels of the pigs with a corresponding increase in productivity. Dr Curtis claimed that most solutions were “low tech” and that any environmental conditions distressing to humans – ammonia levels, dust levels – were also distressing to livestock and that improving ventilation would have an immediate positive impact. Dr Terry L. Mader, Professor of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, addressed the conference on the issue of housing and environment conditions for cattle.


Much of Dr Mader’s material pertained to climatic conditions on the high plains country (Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska) where much of US cattle ranching is concentrated. Dr Mader presented data in regard to the cost/benefit of provision of shelter for cattle on feed in various seasonal settings. Extensive records of monitoring of body temperature, respiration, feed intake, growth rates and ambient temperatures were used to support findings. Dr Mader concluded that open feed yards were the most cost effective method of finishing cattle on the high plains and that under cover confinement provided some benefits during hot, humid summers and wet, muddy winters but overall was not viable. Dr Wendy Underwood, Attending Veterinarian, Eli Lilly & Co spoke of advances in veterinary euthanasia and stunning technology. Dr Underwood’s work is well known in Australia and her material is on the public record. Leif Christenson, Danish Meat Research Institute, presented a paper on the work of the DMRI in the field of CO2 stunning of pigs. The bulk of this work has been published and Australian industry, in the main, supports gas stunning. Of interest was recent research that indicated that pigs suffering from respiratory illness are more prone to rapidly regain consciousness than healthy pigs and that gas concentrations need to be adjusted to compensate for lack of respiratory capacity. Dr Temple Grandin (of whom, more later) addressed the conference on the subject of technological advances in the stunning of cattle and the future use of robotics in the meat processing industry. Dr Dan Hale, Professor and Extension Meat Specialist, Texas A&M University, addressed the subject “The Relationship between Animal Handling and Beef Quality”. His address expanded on the themes of previous speakers and put dollar values on recommended procedures. Dr Steve Lonergan, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, gave a paper addressing, from a pig industry perspective, the subject covered by Dr Hale. AMI Foundation Animal Care & Handling Conference The American Meat Institute Foundation held it’s annual Animal Care and Handling Conference at the Kansas City Sheraton Downtown Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas on 23rd & 24th February 2006. The keynote speaker was Dr Temple Grandin, Associate Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University. Dr Grandin is the internationally acclaimed expert on animal behaviour. She has consulted extensively with industry on facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare.


Dr Grandin has had extensive media exposure in the US and has authored some 300 articles in scientific and livestock publications. She is the author of acclaimed works “Thinking in Pictures”, “Livestock Handling and Transport” and “Genetics and the Behaviour of Domestic Animals”. Dr Grandin spoke of the need for facilities to be designed in a manner that eliminated the types of situations that cause cattle to take fright and to baulk and be difficult to handle. Some examples are:

• Corners in chutes that give the impression of dead ends. Cattle need to see three body lengths ahead

• Changes to the colour and/or texture of footing

• Changes to the colour of chutes and/or fittings

• Shadows

• Sudden movement – flapping chains, loose cladding

• New noise – motors, pumps, PA systems

• Air blowing toward animal

• Movement from light into dark

• Reflections on water or metal

Cattle baulking at a change of colour


Yellow rain coat provokes fear

Open sided chute allows cattle to see people and throws shadow into path


White translucent skylights give shadow-free illumination


“Inside the mind of a steer” Dr Grandin explained her theories on animal behaviour and attempted to see common practices from the steer’s perspective. She explained the extent of an animal’s peripheral vision and the impact of these limitations on behaviour, particularly in relation to flight zones. Given our knowledge that the “point of balance” is at the shoulder, we can structure walkways to achieve free flowing movement of cattle.

Straight race


Curved race Dr Grandin addressed the issues of humane restraint and stunning of cattle and made the following points regarding restraining devices:

• They must restrict the animal’s vision and awareness of surroundings • They must be capable of applying slow, steady pressure

• They must apply optimal pressure (sufficient for restraint, not painful)

• They must be designed to prevent the animal’s fear of falling


Steer’s eye view of a restrainer

Dr Grandin’s work on ‘stunning’ technology is well known in Australia and nothing new was advanced.


A general session entitled “Customer Perspective on Animal Welfare” was chaired by Charlie Arnot of CMA Communications. On the panel were Joan Menke-Schaenzer, Vice President of Food Safety, Wal-Mart Inc and Rob Cannell, Director of Procurement, McDonalds. They gave their organisations’ perspective on the importance of animal welfare to their customer relation strategies. As representatives of two of the biggest retailers in the world, their comments were well received and the point was made that this was the first time that the two organisations had shared a platform. Joan and Rob both gave frank answers to questions from the floor and their performance was applauded. Robert “Bo” Manly, President and CEO, Premium Standard Farms, spoke about the advances that his organisation had made in pig handling and transportation procedures and went on to discuss the threats to intensive agriculture posed by public opinion. Premium Standard Farms is a vertically integrated pig processing operation turning off four million pigs annually. Extensive and expensive research into handling and transporting pigs has produced a revolutionary design for stock crates that has lead to the construction of a two-deck crate with side opening doors. The truck pulls up alongside a two level unloading dock and the pigs walk off the truck in 15-17 minutes with no human intervention. The driver stays in his cabin!! The floor surface of the unloading bay is identical to that of the crate and the pigs walk toward light. Mr Manly then spoke of the problems that industry faces due to public perceptions of the evils of intensive farming. He claimed that less than 5% of US citizens have any exposure to farms and farming practices and that this has lead to acceptance of propaganda disguised as fact propagated by:

1. Vegans and other radical animal rightists 2. Anarchists bent on disruption of US society 3. Ignorant and gullible anthropomorphists

Mr Manly’s comments were well received and it is apparent that industry sees itself as besieged by the above protagonists.


Mr Gerald Kinard, President, Law Enforcement Academic Research Network (LEARN) continued the theme of eco-terrorists and spoke about plant security and the threat to business posed by these alleged radicals. Industry paranoia is extreme and 9/11 has heightened the problem. Mr Kinard made the point that while “scruffy, long-haired hippies” have an image problem in the US, the Humane Society of America has a clean cut image and has an Intensive Farming Project budget of US$12 million. Mr Phil Seng, US Meat Export Federation, spoke on Animal Welfare and its Impact on World Meat Trade. Mr Seng is also a member of OIE (Office of International Epizooties) Animal Welfare Committee. Mr Seng claimed that the US had increased its export of meat to the European Union tenfold in forty years and that the trade was now in the order of two hundred million tonnes annually. He explained that while the US based its trade parameters exclusively on sound science, the EU considered science to be third in importance behind economic and social responsibility concerns. A EU Trade Commissioner asserted that “we have the right to export our conscience”. Sherrie Neikamp, Director–Animal Welfare, National Pork Board, reiterated the peak body’s commitment to animal welfare principles. Angela Baysinger, Vice President-Farm Food Safety, Farmland Food chaired a forum addressing the current and anticipated auditing protocols for on farm and on plant animal welfare. A lively discussion ensued with most participants supportive of audit programs (unlike the fierce industry opposition to implementation and auditing of HACCP based food safety programs). Dr Joe Regenstein, Professor Food Science, Cornell University, gave an address, coloured by religious and political overtones, regarding ritual slaughter practices and their inherently inhumane nature. Dr Regenstein outlined Kosher, Noahide and Halal practices and sought to justify them on scientific grounds. Private Meetings

[a] At the Excel Beef plant Private meeting with Mr Kyle Nichols. QA Supervisor and Mr Ken Conkle, Training Manager. Mr Nichols was my escort during the plant tour and we discussed many aspects of high-speed production systems, including the need for several intervention steps to control bacterial contamination and the difficulty of training a competent work force in such a pressure environment. Mr Conkle showed me the facilities and materials used in training a transient work force of mostly Hispanic ethnicity. The majority of employees have no English, and this disadvantage is countered by:


• Conducting induction training in Spanish • Teaming with a Spanish speaking “buddy”

Two days of induction training is followed by allocation to a “buddy”, who provides all the on job training and the new employee is required to be competent and capable of working at the speed of production within ten weeks.

Advancement to a supervisory position is dependant on the applicant’s ability to read, write and speak English.

Training materials are common to the Cargill Group, with no customising to suit individual plants. [b] At the Conference

Private meetings with Dr Grandin and also with Marie Terneiden and her assistant Leo Bartlett from the American Meat Institute Training Unit Dr Grandin recognised me from contact made at several of her Australian visits and was keen to discuss implementation of her protocols in the Australian farming and processing communities. I informed her that Drs Paul Hemsworth and Michelle Edge had produced a draft Standard based on her protocols and that implementation was in train. Dr Grandin insisted that I accept several gratis copies of DVDs of her material to be used in formalised stock handler training. Ms Teneiden and Mr Bartlett confirmed that training in US industry was on a very ad hoc basis, and that no national competency standards were in place or contemplated. Training is regarded as an in house function and commercially sensitive. The AMI Training Unit runs short courses to meet industry demand, usually crisis driven. On return to Australia [a] Mintrac Annual Conference. I addressed the Mintrac Annual Conference, held in Brisbane on 30th ,31st March. The theme of my presentation was the “place of animal welfare in the industry’s future, and the training needed to keep Australia’s export markets open”. Most attendees had some awareness of animal welfare as an industry issue but had placed a low priority on any action. John Hughes, chairman Australian Meat Industry Council, held private discussions regarding an integrated industry approach. I reiterated that recruitment of empathetic stock handlers was critical, and that training the “wrong” people was a waste of resources.


[b] Review of the relevant training modules. All animal welfare related training modules are being reviewed to assess currency and accuracy. The process is expected to be completed by December 2006.

5. Recommendations Government Ongoing commitment to support the following existing standards and guidelines applicable to the livestock processing industry:

• AS4696-2002 Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transport of Meat and Meat Products.

• SCARM Report 79-Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals at Livestock Slaughtering Establishments.

• OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2005-Guidelines for the Slaughter of Animals for Human Consumption.

• American Meat Industry Foundation Good Management Practices for Animal Handling and Stunning 2005.

Provide clear interpretations of the Standards, with indicative targets, to facilitate their inclusion in Quality Assurance systems. Continue to support Drs Hemsworth, Coleman and Edge in their research into animal behaviour and fund awareness programs. Industry Support and promote the humane and considerate treatment of livestock, and the use of good husbandry and management practices to improve the welfare of animals at processing establishments. Recognise the importance of auditable animal handling practices and refine recruiting policies to attract stockpersons and drovers empathetic to animals under their control. Provide assurance to consumers of meat and meat products derived from Australian livestock that relevant standards are met. Professional associations The veterinary profession needs to become more proactive in counteracting the specious, emotive and anthropomorphic viewpoints of radical animal rightists and gullible city dwellers.


Education and training It is essential to have ongoing review and revision of programs in place to ensure currency of training. MINTRAC is responsible for setting national standards and it is incumbent upon them to ensure that advances in animal welfare and stock handling procedures are included in the latest Training Package (MTM20106) and that annual reviews are conducted. Community The finding that 95% of US citizenry have no connection with, or understanding of, farms and farming practices would broadly translate to the Australian context. The rural sector needs to educate the general populace and demonstrate that farming and processing practices are animal friendly. Agricultural shows (Royal Melbourne, Sydney Easter, Brisbane Exhibition) are more a sideshow than a showcase for agricultural interests. A campaign aimed at Secondary pupils would be more effective. All stakeholders – producers, processors, retailers and food service operators need to be proactive in the pursuit of consumer awareness. How ISS Institute can be involved The International Specialised Skills Institute has the potential to utilize its many contacts to attract funding and work with TAFEs and Certification groups to assist the growth of awareness in the general population and to promote an understanding of farming practices and the importance of agriculture in Australian society. In most cases, the lack of funding is the main obstacle that needs to be overcome. Conclusion That industry and training peak bodies liaise with Dr Grandin and with Australian animal behaviour researchers to stay abreast with current thinking on animal welfare and ensure that our world leading training programs maintain relevance and currency.

animal welfare and livestock handling in the meat industry · roger driscoll iss institute/tafe ......

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