New rules for transporting livestock kick in Feb. 1

OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will be focusing on education and awareness of the new animal transportation regulations that kick in on Feb. 1.

The regulations apply to all livestock and largely focus on reducing the amount of time animals are in transport and include time preparing animals to be shipped.

The new timelines prescribe how long different animals can go without access to feed and water.

• Beef and dairy cattle can go 36 hours without access to feed and water, down from 48 hours.
• Broiler chickens can go 24 hours without water and 28 hours without feed, down from 36 hours for either.
• Hogs can go 28 hours without either food or water, down from 36 hours.
• Ruminants too young to be fed grain or hay exclusively can go 12 hours without food or water, down from 18 hours.

The CFIA has confirmed that there will be a two-year transition period after the regulations take effect in February. During that time, the CFIA will focus its enforcement of the new regulations through education and awareness.

A full breakdown of all the new regulations is available online at the Canada Gazette, Part 2, Feb. 1, 2019.