Friday, July 22, 2011

Ranch wants horses returned

Daryl Slade, Calgary Herald

A Drumheller-area rancher is demanding the Alberta SPCA return all of his seized animals.

In an application filed with Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday by Robin Byron Graham on behalf of Graham Ranching Co. Ltd., the ranch is seeking an order by the court that a veterinarian it selects be given immediate access to inspect all of the horses still in SPCA custody.

Graham alleges the 30 horses that have been kept at Brooks Auction Mart since they were seized in April are living in "appalling" conditions and should be returned to the ranch, where there is "more than ample prime pasture land, water and shelter."

He demands the society not sell or otherwise dispose of the seized horses.

The rancher included a report by a veterinarian, Dr. Uli Schmiemann, who said he found the horses in poor to average body condition, with some having rough hair coats and very likely parasite infestations, both external lice and internal worms.

"The housing conditions of these horses are inadequate," wrote Schliemann, a veterinarian the Grahams hired to look at all aspects of the ranch operation. More

Province issues Lyme disease warning

The province is warning Albertans to guard against Lyme disease after five ticks were found this year carrying the Lyme bacteria.

The ticks, which tested positive for Lyme disease bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, were found on four dogs and a cat.

The animals live in the Calgary and Edmonton area.

“Lyme disease can be a serious condition if it’s not detected early and is left untreated,” said Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta’s chief medical office of health, in a news release.

Prevention is the best defence against the disease, Corriveau noted. Covering up outdoors and using insect repellent help protect agaisnt the infected ticks.

More

Dairy farmer to head AFAC

An organization set up to oversee the care of farm animals within Alberta has appointed a dairy farmer from Rimbey as its new chairman. 

Heini Hehli, who operates a 100-cow dairy herd near the Rimbey Gas Plant, northeast of the town, was elected to replace beef cattle producer Doug Sawyer of Pine Lake. 

Alberta Farm Animal Care, supported by livestock organizations, universities and industry groups, was set up to help promote safe and responsible livestock management and to intervene when problems arise. (Red Deer Advocate, July 18)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Poultry antibiotic pulled in Canada

Pfizer Animal Health's Canadian arm and Winnipeg veterinary drug distributor Dominion Veterinary Laboratories will voluntarily suspend sales of roxarsone, as sold in the products 3-Nitro-20 and Super Nitro-12, effective Aug. 8.

Pfizer's Alpharma subsidiary in the US planned to take much the same action starting early this month in response to a request from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), citing its own study of the drug.

Arsenic content
According to a notice from Health Canada's Veterinary Drugs Directorate, the FDA study had found inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen, at higher levels in the livers of chickens treated with the Nitro drugs, compared with untreated chickens.

Health Canada said it had reviewed the FDA study and agrees with its conclusion that the levels of inorganic arsenic involved were "very low" and posed no immediate health risk to people eating meat from birds treated with the drugs.

Rather, Health Canada said, the suspension of sales is "a precautionary measure to remove any avoidable exposure to very low levels of inorganic arsenic in chickens treated with roxarsone." More

Thursday, July 7, 2011

GuZoo allowed to reopen until judicial review of shutdown order

A private Alberta zoo that was ordered to close is operating again.
  
Dave Ealey of Alberta Sustainable Resources says GuZoo near Three Hills reopened Tuesday under strict conditions.
  
Ealey says the operator of GuZoo requested a judicial review and a court has ordered that the shutdown order be stayed, or suspended, until the review is complete.
  
The review will be heard on Sept. 28.
  
The operating conditions include not allowing the public to have contact with exotic animals and other wildlife; special conditions on the care and handling of the animals and right of provincial staff to come in and inspect the zoo at any time.
  
In late May, the Alberta government said it would no longer issue GuZoo a permit because an independent review found deficiencies in all categories of its operations

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Drumheller rancher reclaims seized animals for $160,000

A Drumheller-area ranch has secured the $160,000 required by the courts to get back 270 head of cattle and 150 horses seized by the Alberta SPCA for alleged animal cruelty.

On Monday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry McMahon approved the conditions presented by lawyer Teddy Nobles, who represents the Graham Ranching Company Ltd., and SPCA lawyer Erin Ippolito.

Initially the cattle must be kept in portions of the land where fences have been repaired -and approved by the SPCA -according to court documents.

If the other fences are approved, the Graham family may also place mares and foals there. Provided that all cattle have been moved to the portions of land where fencing has been approved, the Grahams may place stud horses in the land.
If fencing is not completed and approved by July 14, the SPCA can start the process to sell the animals. More

Monday, July 4, 2011

Stampede isn't alone in improving animal care

Along with the anticipation of daily rodeos and nightly chuckwagon races, the annual countdown to the Calgary Stampede now includes a new tradition: protests about the care and treatment of animals.
That should be no surprise. Animals on farms, captive in zoos, used in performances and even as household pets are now all included in the significant and far-reaching debate about how animals should be used and ought to be treated. In Canada and around the globe, there is a passionate discussion underway about animal welfare and animal rights.

While stories about animal treatment may dominate the headlines, there is an ongoing methodical wave of change driven by commodity groups, corporations and other animal organizations that are responding to shifting public perceptions. At the forefront is a growing concern for the "emotional" wellbeing of the animals, which is increasingly considered to be as important as health or productivity.

In the area of food production, for instance, consumer concerns regarding animal welfare have grown to influence business and public policy. The treatment of egg-laying hens is a perfect example. Consumer groups, municipalities and large institutes have demanded change and now battery cages -small, un-enriched cages -are being phased out. Starting in 2012, they are banned in the European Union, by 2015 in California, and starting in 2018, new buildings in Manitoba will not have battery cages. In Alberta, producers are showing significant interest in enriched cages and other options. Hellman's Mayonnaise has voluntarily phased in cage-free eggs. More

Local Food Plus includes animal welfare

Driving the movement is Lori Stahlbrand, a journalist-turned- food-advocate who has spent the last six years and several million donor dollars animating her dream of creating an alternative food system that stars environmentally- and animal-friendly Canadian farmers.

Ms. Stahlbrand's first building block was creating Local Food Plus, a non-profit that issues its private certification to progressive farmers who conform to the tough set of sustainability and production standards written for the agency by a crack team of agricultural and environmental experts. The agency then helps link certified farmers with local buyers who would not have made the connections alone, providing critical strength to the local and regional supply chain.

"We were losing our ability to feed ourselves," Ms. Stahlbrand said. "What we're trying to do is build a different kind of food system. We've built the flywheel. Now it's starting to turn." More

The Calgary Stampede chuckwagon race will go on

More than a million people are expected to take in this year’s Calgary Stampede, but it’s two guests in particular who will turn heads – William and Kate.

Dubbed the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Stampede will officially kick off Friday with a 4.5-kilometre parade attended by the royal couple. It’s the final day of their Canadian tour, a trip that seems to have been precisely scheduled to deliver them to Calgary for the city’s blockbuster annual event. They leave the country hours afterward.

“I, for one, am thrilled they’re coming during one of Canada’s premiere events,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said.
The royals will visit at a time of a changing Stampede, albeit one that, in its 99th year, remains controversial. Six horses died in last year’s competitions, renewing criticisms made by animal-rights groups who oppose the event.

In Britain, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are under pressure to boycott the Stampede during their tour – though the itinerary is set. “He [the Prince] really shouldn’t be endorsing this type of animal cruelty,” said Steve Taylor, chief campaigner for Britain’s League Against Cruel Sports, whose supporters are being asked to flood Buckingham Palace with calls and letters this week.

Stampede organizers, however, shrug it all off. They work with the Calgary Humane Society to improve the event and said they have made several changes this year to improve animal welfare. However, one of the most dangerous, and lucrative, events – the chuckwagon race – will go on. More