TORONTO -- Industry conditions have changed rapidly in recent years for livestock haulers and the Ontario Trucking Association Livestock Transporters’ Division is looking to make sure animal safety is still at the forefront of livestock hauling.

The LTD recently issued a policy paper entitled, “Policy Recommendation to Create a Safe, Educated and Accountable Live Animal Transportation Supply Chain,” which outlines the division’s proposal for improving the integrity of livestock transport in Ontario.

“Like every industry, our sector has undergone dramatic changes over the years greatly impacting our labour pool and our training and equipment requirements, as well as causing us to meet growing demands from fewer and fewer customers,” said Randy Scott, OTA LTD Chairman.

Along with making several key recommendations, the policy paper also provides a brief history of animal transportation in Ontario and discusses the impact of several changes on supply chain members, the state of animals in the care of trucking companies and issues of government oversight.

The recommendations contained in the policy paper seek to ensure that animals are only entrusted to properly certified and trained trucking fleets.

“The OTA LTD is committed to jointly developing a system with government and other members of the supply chain that ensures livestock is only transported by certified carriers and drivers,” said OTA senior vice-president Stephen Laskowski.

“However, within this system, government must be willing to impose penalties or fines on all members of the supply chain for failure to utilize certified transportation experts,” added Laskowski.

Some of the recommendations of the OTA LTD include: all livestock transporters should fall under the same provisions as trucks required to have a CVOR; farmers and producers be required to ensure that their carriers satisfy CVOR requirements; an Entrant Program be developed for all trucking companies engaged in the movement of live animals in Ontario, requiring the completion of a one-day course on safety and animal knowledge; CFIA conduct random animal inspections at any loading points during livestock pickups to determine animal health; and in addition to animal weight, all facilities handling livestock must be required to report previous feeding and watering of animals to drivers upon livestock pickup.

To obtain a copy of the paper or for more information on the LTD, email: deanna.pagnan@cantruck.ca.