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Ontario’s agriculture community disappointed with pig trial verdict

Judge dismisses charges against activist

By Jennifer Jackson

Today, a judge in Milton ruled animal activist Anita Kranjc not guilty of mischief in the livestock tampering case.

In June 2015, Halton police arrested Kranjc after she gave water to pigs on a truck, which was located outside a Burlington slaughter house.

Prosecutors representing hog farmer Eric Van Boekel argued that Kranjc tampered with private property. Kranjc’s defense argued she was acting in the public good and did not harm the pigs.

Kranjc’s verdict may encourage other activists to participate in activities that could risk food security, animal welfare and human safety, according to a combined statement from Farm & Food Care Ontario, Ontario Pork, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO), released May 4.

Kranjc

Anita Kranjc gives water to pigs headed to Fearman's Pork in Burlington.
Photo: Elli Garlin

Ontario pork producers follow strict standards regarding animal care, according to Eric Schwindt, board chair for Ontario Pork.

“This (ruling) is frustrating for Ontario pork producers, who adhere to federal regulations and high standards of animal care, and are constantly evolving to further enhance their commitment to healthy animals and communities,” he said in the release. “Our concern in this instance was specific to the safety of food and people.”

Schwindt said the judge had put sufficient thought into the verdict, however.

Although the case itself was unfortunate, “I was impressed how well thought out and well reasoned (the judge’s reasoning) was, and that he supported animal agriculture in every (point),” he said in a phone call. “He was very clear that in this case the producer in question – and the industry in general – follows regulations, … transports pigs humanely, and that food safety is (a priority) to everybody.”

The prosecuting team argued that an unknown substance offered to the pig could threaten not only the specific truckload but also the food system.

The pigs still went to slaughter without issue or mention of a possible contaminant, Judge David Harris said in court, according to CBC.

However, any type of interference while shipping livestock can be risky for those involved, says Pat Jilsen, director of the OFA.

“The livestock industry abides by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Health of Animals transport regulations. This ensures the well-being of all livestock during movement and transport,” he said in the release. “Interfering with animals during transport is simply unsafe for the animals and the people involved.”

Clarence Nywening, president of the CFFO, noted her discontent with the verdict. “This (ruling) is a huge disappointment to Ontario farmers who are committed to keeping animals healthy and safe throughout their lives,” she said in the release. “Actions like this by activists are putting pigs, families, communities and livelihoods at risk.”

The OFA, CFFO, Ontario Pork and Farm & Food Care Ontario will meet and discuss how to advance with this issue, according to the release.  

The groups want to ensure society understands that they are in good hands in terms of how their food is produced, said Schwindt.

“On a high level, we want to make sure everyone is confident in our animal welfare and food safety programs – we want to keep getting that message out (there) that we treat our animals humanely. We are required to transport (our livestock) under regulation and we follow those regulations,” he said in a phone call. “On an individual level, I do feel sorry for truck drivers who have to deal with protestors. We all deserve to work in safe environment and that’s tough (to achieve) when we have people that don’t respect (this).

“We wished the incident didn’t happen – we want to produce pork and our family farms want to continue on with our business. We don’t want to be in court rooms – it’s not our livelihood.”


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US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”