The BC SPCA


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FarmSense

March 2011

Dear Friend,

The BC SPCA recently welcomed a new staff member to the Farm Animal Welfare team.  Brandy Street comes to the SPCA with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science and minoring in Business, from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Brandy also holds a Masters of Science in Agriculture in the field of Applied Ethology, which is the study of animal behaviour.  Brandy’s M.Sc. thesis work examined the effects of group size and space allowance on grow-finish pig behaviour, health and productivity.

Brandy StreetBrandy grew up on a small hobby farm in the hamlet of Stony Beach, Saskatchewan, just outside of Moose Jaw.  It was there that she found her love for animals.  Throughout her high school and university years, Brandy worked on a number of different farms, gaining experience with pigs, dairy cattle, poultry and sheep.  Upon graduation from her M.Sc., Brandy worked as the Ethology Research Assistant at the Prairie Swine Centre and later, as the Executive Director for the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative; an agri-environmental research funding initiative based out of Winnipeg. 

This February, Brandy joined the farm animal welfare team as the SPCA Certified Program Coordinator.  Her valuable skills and knowledge are a great asset to the farm department and will help her contribute to the growing success of the SPCA Certified Program and BC SPCA advocacy and outreach initiatives. 

Sincerely,

Alyssa, Geoff and Brandy
The BC SPCA Farm Animal Welfare Team 

PS. You can help spread awareness about the BC SPCA Farm Animal Welfare department and our many programs. Forward this email to friends and colleagues.

Photo caption: Brandy Street, M.Sc. (Ag) joined the BC SPCA Farm Animal Welfare department in February 2010.  

  


Feature Story


Lameness in broiler chickens:
How to assess walking ability using gait scores

This article originally appeared in the April 2008 issue of FarmSense. 

Lame broiler chickThe SPCA Certified Standards for the Raising and Handling of Broiler Chickens has a focus on detection of lameness, which can be a problem in broiler flocks if left unmanaged. 

Regular and frequent gait scoring is one method that will help farmers to control the level of lameness occurring in their barns.

In this interview with the BC SPCA, poultry expert, Karen Brickett explains the causes of lameness in broiler (meat) chickens and elaborates on how we can assess lameness and reduce its prevalence over time. 

Karen completed her M.Sc. in poultry nutrition, management and ethology at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research examined how nutrition, feed form and light affect growth performance and skeletal quality of broiler chickens.

Download the full April 2008 FarmSense issue

 

 
Did you know?

The BC SPCA, in partnership with many experts, has created a number of resources for farmers!

All resources can be accessed from our newly created 
Resources for farmers section of our website. 

  

Other lameness in broiler chicks resources

BC SPCA factsheet on Lameness in Broiler Chickens

Preventing lameness in broiler chickens
(source: WelfareQuality.net)


Research in Focus

This month’s ‘Research in Focus’ provides an overview of upcoming events centered around farm animal welfare, care and handling:

Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC): Annual Livestock Care Conference
April 6 – 7, 2011
Red Deer Lodge
Red Deer, Alberta

International Research Group in Animal Law (GRIDA): Animal Law Conference
May 20, 2011
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, Ontario

Humane Slaughter Association Centenary International Symposium “Recent Advances in the Welfare of Livestock at Slaughter”
June 30 – July 1, 2011
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, UK

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) International Animal Welfare Symposium
“Making animal welfare improvements: Economic and other incentives and constraints”

June 28 – 29, 2011
Portsmouth, UK 

ISAE 2011: 45th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology
July 31 – August 4, 2011
Hyatt Regency
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

5th International Workshop on the Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level
August 8 – 11, 2011
Guelph, Ontario

National Farm Animal Care Conference (NFACC):
Advancing Animal Care and Addressing Market Expectations

October 5 – 6, 2011
Hilton Garden Inn
Ottawa Airport, 2400 Alert Road, Ottawa, Ontario

British Columbia Farm Animal Care Council (BCFACC) Conference
November 10, 2011
Abbotsford, BC

 

  

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Applied Knowledge
 

In this issue of FarmSense, Jim Gowans, Director of Alberta Pig Company, discusses the ins and outs of converting the Lewisville Pork Farm to a group housing system for gestating sows, and how resulting sow productivity compares to sows housed in a stalled system.

Download the full article.

 

 


SPCA Certified Updates
 


Official release of SPCA Certified promotional videos scheduled for March 31, 2011!!

Three videos are scheduled for release at the end of March, each providing similar information, but geared towards different audiences: farmers, consumers and the general public. 

SPCA Certified Video - Marlene Lacey, Ladybug Man  SPCA Certified Video - Willy & Cheryl perform assessment  SPCA Certified Video - Hen looking at camera

Stay tuned to the BC SPCA website to catch the videos when they are released later this month!  Further information on the SPCA Certified program, the farms and farmers involved, as well as information on where you can buy SPCA Certified food products can also be found on the website. 

 

SPCA Certified Logo

The SPCA Certified red barn label is your assurance that a product meets the BC SPCA’s high standards for farm animal welfare.

 

 

About FarmSense

FarmSense includes news about farm animal welfare issues, research results, and information on the BC SPCA's activities that help farm animals in B.C. We welcome your comments and suggestions on FarmSense content. Please feel free to email us at farminfo@spca.bc.ca.

View or download (.pdf) previous issues of FarmSense on our website at spca.bc.ca/farmsense.

BC SPCA Farm Animal Welfare Department


The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public donations. Our mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for domestic, farm and wild animals in British Columbia. The Society provides a wide range of services, including cruelty investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

BC SPCA Charitable Registration No. BN 11881 9036 RR0001

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