Heat and animals: a deadly mix

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/07/2023 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT’S been hot in Manitoba. Environment Canada senior climatologist, Dave Phillips told 680 CJOB last month that the heat we were experiencing was a mere “dress rehearsal” for what was to come. “I think you should get used to it,” he said. And here we are a month later: Winnipeg hitting 37C with the humidex in recent weeks.

The heat has prompted animal welfare authorities to remind the public to “Keep pets cool in Winnipeg or be fined,” reiterating, as they so often do, that leaving dogs in hot cars is both dangerous and illegal.

That legal consideration granted to puppies and kitties, though, does not apply to pigs, cows and chickens. No matter how high the temps soar, farmed animals can continue to be transported, legally up to 32 hours without food, water or rest, in metal transport trucks without mechanical climate control.

And newly obtained government records show that at least one truckload of pigs was turned away at the Manitoba border on a hot summer day, due to dead and suffering animals.

Admittedly, it might be a tough time to elicit pity for pigs roasting on Manitoba highways. We’ve experienced profound tragedy on our roads of late, with the crash near Carberry that claimed the lives of 16 seniors, and another near Gilbert Planes that killed four teens. On the other hand, perhaps it is a good time, as so many of us are now reconsidering what level of highway safety we should be expecting and demanding from our governments. Canada’s highways should be safe for everyone, and right now they are not.

In Canada, there are no laws regarding temperatures above or below which farmed animals cannot be transported. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency sets transport time limits, which are often referred to as the worst in the Western World. The industry-run National Farm Animal Care Council suggests regarding weather that “conditions should be monitored and ventilation adjusted accordingly,” and “Ventilation should be adjustable from the outside of the vehicle in response to temperature changes during a trip.” But these are vague and voluntary recommendations, not laws, and pertain simply to opening and closing slats, or utilizing tarps.

Alternatively, in the European Union, farmed animal transport trucks are typically equipped with mechanical climate controls. Animals cannot be transported when temperatures exceed 30C, and transporters must be able to monitor those temperatures. Travel times can also not generally exceed eight to 14 hours without a break.

As a result of Canada’s prioritization of speedy meat production over the welfare of animals in slaughter-bound trucks, advocates have seen and documented unarguable animal suffering. Well, at least they did before ag-gag legislation was enacted in Manitoba in 2021, making it illegal for activists, like those with Manitoba Animal Save (MAS), to “interact” with animals on transport trucks.

One MAS organizer, Danae Tonge recalls witnessing pigs in trucks first-hand, on hot summer days outside the Maple Leaf slaughterhouse in Brandon. “We’ve seen the pigs foaming at the mouth,” she says, noting their thermometers used to measure temperature inside the trucks reached 37-38 degrees some days. “And there’s a truck every 10 minutes,” she adds, “it never stops, from I would say seven in the morning to at least 10 at night. It never stops.” Annually, over 1.5 million animals arrive to Canadian slaughterhouses already dead.

Government records recently obtained by national animal law organization Animal Justice, through access to information laws, echo Tonge’s account. The documents reveal that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) turned away an overcrowded truckload of Canadian pigs at the U.S. border on a hot day last summer. Inspectors found pigs dead and others suffering from heat stress. The date was July 13, not long after the Manitoba Marathon had been shut down early due to heat.

If only pigs were puppies.

The latest update to the city’s Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw states that pets left in unattended vehicles when the outside temperature is at or warmer than 22C or colder than -10C can net a fine ranging from $250 to $500. You can’t even cycle with your dog when temperatures are above 22C.

Sadly, Canadian law does not deem farmed animals worthy of such protections. But surely most Canadians would.

We need better laws for these non-pet animals. Even better, we need to stop shoving them into sweltering trucks all together.

Jessica Scott-Reid is a Winnipeg freelance journalist and animal advocate.