The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing a change to
regulations to allow farmers to kill animals on the farm and send them to a
packing plant.
"Their intent is to allow for the on farm slaughter of
animals which are safe for human consumption but for which a variety of reasons
may not be fit for transport," said Tim O'Connor, spokesperson for the
agency.
"That may be because it's an overly aggressive animal. It
may be an animal which has a broken leg."
The CFIA said it’s definitely not going to allow roadkill to be
taken in by packing plants.
Under the proposal, farmers would need to have a veterinarian
inspect the animal before it’s slaughtered on the farm “and then the carcass
has to be shipped according to regulatory requirements… to a federally
registered establishment where it is further inspected post-mortem by a
veterinarian to ensure again it is suitable for human consumption," O’Connor
said. "This does not include dead stock. That's unequivocal."
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association supports the proposal,
noting that it would end pain for injured animals.
"I think it's a win-win scenario all around, “said John
Masswohl, the CCA’s director or
government and international relations. it's good for the animal, it's good for
the farmers and I would say it has zero impact on the safety of the food, zero
impact on consumers," he said.
