How familiar are you with your obligations to ensure animals are transported safely and appropriately? Its an interesting questions to ask producers or livestock agents. Sometimes the response I get to that question is a blank look or even a comment that its up to the truckie! In actual fact, anyone responsible for the care and management of livestock has an obligation to know the current standards and adhere to them.
Its called the chain of obligation, and it starts with the owner of the animal and ends with the final receiver of the livestock. Anyone along the way, be it the agent, truck driver, staff at the sale yard, feedlot, depot or processor is included in the chain. So its important you make yourself familiar with the current national standards.
The current Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for the Land Transport of Livestock are the basis for a national consistent framework regarding standards and responsibilities associated with ensuring welfare of animals is maintained.
The national standards and guidelines cover alpacas; buffalo; camels, cattle, deer, emu, goats, horses, poultry, pigs, ostriches and sheep.
There are general guidelines that apply to all animals. Having read through these standards, I reckon they provide a logical progression for anyone who will be responsible for transporting animals.
The general standards include recommendations for:
Responsibilities & planning
Stock Handling competency
Transport vehicles and facilities for livestock
Pre transport selection of livestock
Loading, transporting and unloading livestock
Humane destruction
Each of these points addresses important considerations for every person who is responsible for the animal.
This includes questions such as; are the animals fit to load? There are useful pointers for the suppliers of animals selecting animals and assembling them for transport as well as identifying the responsibilities for sac section of the chain of responsibility.
As well as these general standards, the document addresses the specific requirements for transporting animals of each species. These standards cover important issues such as loading densities; transportation of pregnant animals; suitability of vehicles for different species and tim of feed or water.
Transporting animals is something that everyone involved in agriculture will have to do at some stage to other.
Having the national standards in place means we re all working to the same standard and working to consistently achieve the best welfare standards for our animals.
I reckon its definitely essential you download a copy of the standard and become familiar with its standards and recommendations.