Animal Welfare
Caring for animals is in our companies DNA – with forefathers first running livestock in the remote Murchison area of WA in 1888.
The supply chain is almost 4 years in length, and with such an investment in each animal (both time and money) it is essential that each animal reaches its genetic potential; that they have the opportunity to maximise performance and this won’t occur unless we are genuinely focused on the wellbeing of each animal.
Anthony Fellows - CEO
The Key elements of animal welfare
Health
Protection from pain, injury, suffering and disease and treated if they become ill or injured.
Behaviour
The ability to behave naturally for their species eg. Play, run, dig, jump, fly etc.
Diet
A suitable diet. This can include feeding appropriately for the animals life stage and feeding a suitable amount to prevent obesity or malnourishment, as well as access to fresh clean water.
Companionship
The ability to be housed with, or apart from, other animals as appropriate for the species.
Environment
A suitable environment. This should include the right type of home with a comfortable place to rest and hide as well as space to exercise and explore.
Our welfare guarantee
- Our feedlots are accredited under the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme
- Our feedlots are managed by trained and competent staff
- Infrastructure and handling equipment is purpose built to minimise stress
- All pens have good drainage and suitable compacted pens floors which are regularly cleaned
- We engage specialist veterinarians and nutritionists experienced with feedlot animals to provide regular review and advice
- Sick animals should be quickly identified and treated.
- Stocking density are managed to avoid respiratory disorders and diets adjusted to avoid digestive problems
- The welfare of animals in feedlots can be enhanced by using low-stress stock-handling methods and by providing enrichment through having adequate roughage in the diet (to allow animals to chew their cud)
- Our feedlots and processing facility have undergo independent animal welfare audits to assess compliance of our practices and procedures
TRUCKSAFE ACCREDITED TRANSPORT
Trucksafe Animal Welfare is an audited quality assurance program for livestock transport. It covers animal welfare, food safety and traceability. It is fully auditable and is built around the quality assurance principles contained in international standards and also uses hazard analysis of critical control points.
Animal Welfare is focused on humane transportation of the stock, on how to prevent disease, stress and contamination problems when moving them, on making sure the ‘paddock to plate’ traceability for livestock is supported during the journey and on the eating quality and safety of the final meat product.
It covers:
- Professional management procedures
- Customer & subcontractor management
- Resolving problems with customers
- Training & induction for livestock transport
- Stock crate maintenance
- Selecting stock that are fit to load
- Proper handling, loading & unloading of stock
