The draft Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle is available for public comment until Jan. 27. The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC), and Dairy Farmers of Canada announced the launch of the 60-day comment period on Nov. 29, 2021.
The draft Code can be viewed and submissions made through NFACC’s website at www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/dairy-cattle. All comments must be submitted through the online system, for which easy to follow instructions are provided. Codes are updated every ten years, making this an important opportunity for all stakeholders to contribute to Canada’s standards of care for dairy cattle. Participants can review the entire draft code or easily navigate to sections of most interest to them.
A scientific committee report summarizing research on priority welfare topics can be found alongside the draft code online. This peer-reviewed report aided the discussions of the Code Development Committee as they prepared the draft Code of Practice.
The draft dairy cattle Code is one of four Codes of Practice currently being developed as part of a multi-year NFACC project. Codes of Practice serve as a national understanding of animal care requirements and recommended practices. The Codes cover housing, feed and water, handling, euthanasia, transport and other important management practices.
More information on the Code development process is available at nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice.
In 1980, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies began coordinating the process of developing Codes of Practice for all livestock species. The Canadian Agri-Food Research Council then led the process from 1993-2003. The National Farm Animal Care Council, (NFACC) was initiated in 2005 and facilitated consultations in 2006 that led to an updated Code development process. The updated Code development process was test piloted in 2007-2008, with the revision and finalization of a Dairy Code of Practice. The Canadian federal government, through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has continued to provide financial support for Code of Practice development. Learn more about the Codes of Practice and NFACC at www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice.
