Meat+Poultry - November 2017 - 8

C O M M E N TA R Y

Precious cargo
The images and the commentary are
cringeworthy. News broadcasts tend to
make lead stories of traffic accidents
involving overturned livestock trucks,
especially when it involves the escape
of surviving animals. These scenes tend
to create viral video footage capturing
images of panicking and often vocal
and injured animals scurrying around
the scene as first responders do their
best to maintain order while protecting
rubber-necking drivers who are passing
by. Too often these incidents require
police officers to play the role of
cowboys as they round up cattle or
hogs and attempt to safely corral them
in chaotic situations that do nothing to
flatter the industry.
For years, the transporting of
livestock has been a vulnerability
in the industry's robust progress
toward improving animal welfare.
But thankfully, significant advances
are being made, as was evident by the
North American Meat Institute's (NAMI)
adding a daylong pre-conference to
its annual Animal Care and Handling
conference this year dedicated
specifically to animal transport.
Like many other agricultural hubs
across the country, commuters in and
around Kansas City, where the arterial
Interstate Highway 70 and Interstate

Highway 35 intersect, most regular
commuters are accustomed to driving
alongside tractor trailers loaded with
livestock on any given day. It isn't
uncommon for automobile drivers
to make eye contact with a curious
bovine or porcine passenger cruising
at highway speeds and, in many cases,
they are practically within arm's reach
from their car window. Unfortunately,
these close encounters result in highway
accidents caused by a variety of
factors, many of which were discussed,
including: proper truck loading, trailer
design options, emergency response,
driver training and accountability
throughout the entire process.
Not unlike many aspects of animal
welfare, awareness and constant
education of those who are in control
of the animals during their transitions
from the farm to the plant is crucial
to the success of any program. Those
programs are only as effective as the
weakest link, one of which used to be
the animal transport process and what
to do when things go wrong.
Jennifer Woods, owner of Woods
Livestock Service, first developed
a livestock emergency response
course 20 years ago. During that time,
Woods has, among other efforts,
led a campaign to develop a fleet of
emergency response vehicles and
organize response teams throughout
North America to render aid when
things go wrong on the road. Since

its inception, more
Transporting
livestock has been
than 40 emergency
a weak spot as the
response vehicles
industry has improved
(most designed
animal welfare
for responding to
practices.
accidents involving
live hogs) are
equipped and ready to
assist, while more than 10,000
people have been trained to properly
respond to transport emergencies. The
need is still there, however. "We really
should be in control of these accidents
and we aren't," Woods says.
She went on to discuss the
ABCs of what should be included
in an emergency-response trailer as
well as suggestions for the shared
responsibilities among companies
in a given region and coordinating
training along with local police and
fire departments. She offers speciesspecific lists of supplies for trailers
that range in size from Smithfield
Foods' 28-ft. version with every bell,
whistle and tool imaginable, to one
as basic as a 12-ft. cargo trailer that is
stocked with the essentials to assist
in an emergency. Equipment ranges
from captive bolt stunners for seriously
injured animals to sheet-metal cutting
saws to open trailers to access animals
in emergency situations. It is proactive
programs and committed professionals
like these that shine a bright light on
the future of animal welfare efforts.
J O E L C R E WS, E D I TO R | j c r e w s @ s o s l a n d .c o m

"We really should be in control of these accidents
and we aren't." - Jennifer Woods

8

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Meat+Poultry - November 2017

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