Science-Based Dog Breeding Standards Soon in Testing Phase

Purdue University has started a research project that will help develop standards for commercially bred dogs. Breeders will begin adhering to the draft standards by the end of 2015. Canine welfare will be measured before and after the breeding draft standards are implemented. The goal is to create nation-wide standards that ensure a decent quality of life. Lead researcher, Dr. Candace Croney (head of Purdue’s Center for Animal Welfare Science) said, "Breeders have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to participate."

The research project is funded by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, Pet Food Institute, and the World Pet Association. Additional support is provided by the Science Fellows program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIC)and the USDA-APHIC Center for Animal Welfare.

The draft standards include access to food and water, shelter, veterinary and preventative health care, behavioural wellness, and genetic selection. The research will also examine ethical issues such as rehoming dogs and ending breeding careers. Croney said, "All animal care policies must be grounded in science as well as ethics and social responsibility." The draft standards have been created with help from breeders, veterinarians, reproductive experts, and welfare experts. Experts including Temple Grandin, Bernie Rollin, and James Serpell provided input.

The scientific literature has large gaps concerning housing and management of kenneled and breeding dogs. One of the goals of Croney’s research is to collect data on these topics. These data and the final standards will be publicized in 2016. A summary, table of contents of the draft standards, research updates, and dog welfare articles may be found here.

Croney said, "The dialogue, constructive feedback and collaboration offered by breeders and animal health and welfare experts and others have greatly facilitated Purdue's capacity to develop scientific and educational approaches needed to advance the welfare of dogs in commercial breeding operations. The research team looks forward to the continuing support and input of the various communities invested in improving dog welfare."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

2015 Summit Forum: Service and Assistance Dogs

It is a widespread belief that service dogs can enrich the lives of people yet there are so many barriers for people requiring their use. In Canada there are provincial standards with each province having different requirements. This can allow a service dog to legally work in one province while it cannot in another one. What guidelines should govern whether an animal is a service animal or not?

National standards are currently being developed for psychiatric service dogs that serve Veterans. What needs to be done to develop federal standards for other service dogs?

In the spring, British Columbia introduced a “Guide and Service Dog Act” which would require all service dogs to be trained by a facility accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF). This would prevent internationally certified trainers and behaviourists from training service dogs. Who should be able to decide who trains a service dog? Why is British Columbia limiting training to a duopoly? Why does it matter who trains the dog, provided the dog can perform its required duty while remaining impeccably well behaved in public?

Communities, airlines, school boards, penal institutions, service industries and breeders need industry help to recast this dilemma so more lives are enriched using companion animals.

Get the facts, have your say, move the industry.

If you are interested in participating at the 2015 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies please contact Shannon Woodward, Urban Animal Program Manager. 

AFIA’s Response to the Food Safety Modernization Act

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in the United States in 2011. The FSMA is the largest reform to America's food safety laws in over 70 years. The goal of the FSMA is to “ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.”

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has released a response to the "Current Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls for Food for Animals" (under the FSMA).

    "AFIA is pleased with how transparent FDA has remained throughout this entire rulemaking process. This has been no easy endeavor for the agency and they should be commended. The rule's finalization will now allow AFIA to move forward with preparing our members and the industry for implementation of the largest change to animal food regulation since the 1950s.

Upon brief review, AFIA is pleased FDA followed through with our request for a phase-in approach to implementation, giving all animal food manufacturing facilities additional time to execute CGMPs (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) first, followed by the hazard analysis and preventive controls. The phase-in process, as we have said all along, benefits everyone. It allows firms more time for adjustment to basic program requirements such as CGMPs before adhering to more complicated aspects of the final rule.

AFIA is also pleased FDA recognized animal food is different from human food in revising the CGMPs to be more applicable to animal food facilities and addressing the hazards in our industry.

Due to the adaptation of the phase-in approach and the revisions to the CGMPs, the animal food rule cost-to-benefit ratio is more realistic. Although AFIA maintains FSMA will always be a costly regulation, we acknowledge FDA's attempt to equalize the gap between the cost and the limited benefits in the final rule.

With the release of the rule, the clock starts ticking for the industry as we inch closer to the first implementation deadline in September 2016. AFIA will proactively be reading, studying and helping industry implement the rule at their facilities. We also plan to continue the conversation with FDA as this process moves forward to better understand FDA's intentions and ensure transparency."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

CVMA’s 2015 Summit of Veterinary Leaders: Skills Taught, Skills Needed

Our collective knowledge about animal care is continuously growing and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) addressed these changes at their Summit of Veterinary Leaders. The title of the 2015 Summit was “Skills Taught, Skills Needed – The ABC’s of Veterinary Credentials”. The CVMA is committed to ensuring that new graduates are ready for practice and how that readiness is ensured. New graduates must meet certain competencies from an accredited veterinary school. The speakers discussed national and international accreditation and how this affects new graduates in Canada.

Partnered with the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council of Education (COE), CVMA is involved with the accreditation of veterinary schools. Together they discussed how schools become accredited and how this affects the knowledge and skills of graduates from these schools. Speakers from Canada, the United States, and Europe participated in the discussions.

CVMA states, “This discussion is intended for all CVMA members, not just those in academia. What happens in veterinary education has an effect on the whole profession and should be of interest to every veterinarian.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

IAB CANADA RELEASES NEW ONLINE AD STANDARDS

If you advertise online you need to read this!


The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) of Canada has released its new Online, Mobile + Tablet Ad Standards and Creative Specs for 2012. In coordination with IAB USA, IAB Canada worked to ensure the new standards align as much as possible with North American Standards + Guidelines, while still providing for Canadian-specific differences where needed. 


IAB Canada has also announced a new partnership with ADOPS Garage that will provide IAB Canada members with free access to ADOPS Garage’s new AdOps AdVisor Tool application that allows agencies and their design partners to pre-test online display ads for compliance with IAB Canada Standards.