Pigs

The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs was released in 2014.

In March 2019 a Code Technical Panel was established to undertake the pig Code’s 5 year review.

The Code Technical Panel (CTP) also needed to address a requirement in Section 1.1.2 of the pig Code that stipulated “greater freedom of movement,” with suitable options being “clarified by the participating stakeholders by July 1, 2019, as informed by scientific evidence.” As such, the decision was made to combine the 5 year Code review process with the Code amendment process , given that an amendment to the pig Code was inevitable. The CTP therefore also served as a Code Amendment Committee with representation from all required participants.

The Five-Year Review Summary Report – Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs, completed in August 2020 outlines the complexities of the issues deliberated by the CTP, the agreements and recommendations made (including proposed amendments to the pig Code), projections for group housing, and a detailed literature review of research priorities and gaps that were identified during the 2014 pig Code’s development. It is a broad summary of the work undertaken by the CTP and provides important context for the proposed amendments to the pig Code.

This is a substantial 137 page report. Hence, we’ve developed a “What You Need to Know” clickable document to highlight helpful details and aid in navigating the report.

Proposed amendments to the pig Code were open for a 60-day Public Comment Period (PCP) from September 21, 2020 – November 19, 2020.

The Code Amendment Committee is now considering the feedback received toward finalizing amendments to the pig Code. The final Code of Practice will be released by early 2021.

The 2014 Code of Practice for the Care, Handling of Pigs and 2012 Scientific Committee report, and other related resources are below.

Committees

Code Amendment Committee members

Participants are defined as per NFACC’s Guiding Principles for Codes of Practice.

Role	Committee Member	Organization
Panel Chair	Susie Miller
Producer (Manitoba)	Claude Vielfaure	Canadian Pork Council
Producer (Ontario)	James Reesor	Canadian Pork Council
Producer (Quebec)	Yvan Fréchette	Canadian Pork Council
Producer (New Brunswick)	Hans Kristensen	Canadian Pork Council
Veterinarian	Dr. Egan Brockhoff
National animal welfare association	Geoff Urton	Humane Canada
Processor	Dr. Jorge Correa	Canadian Meat Council
Retail and food service organization	Andrew Telfer	Retail Council of Canada
Researcher/academic	Dr. Yolande Seddon	NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Swine Welfare, University of Saskatchewan
Federal government	David Trus	Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Provincial government representative with responsibilities in animal welfare	Dr. Julie Nolin	Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Quebec

There are various ways to view the Code:

HTML version (or select from the Table of Contents below)
PDF version (1.9 MB)

There are a limited number of hard copies of this Code. NFACC encourages use of the electronic version and does not store hard copies. If hard copies are required, please contact the Canadian Pork Council.

Other resources

Scientific Committee report - Review of scientific research on priority issues - July 2012

Executive Summary: The Science of the Pig Code

Listen to Catherine Scovil presentation at the NFACC conference - October 2013
NFACC Code development process
Animal Welfare Research Needs
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA)

Castration of Piglets – Position Statement

Preface
Introduction
Glossary
Section 1 Housing and Handling Facilities
Section 2 Feed and Water
Section 3 Animal Health
Section 4 Husbandry Practices
Section 5 Transportation
Section 6 Euthanasia
References
Appendices:
	Appendix A - Guidelines for Determining Individual Stall Sizes for Gestating Gilts and Sows
	Appendix B - Recommended Minimum Floor Space Allowances for Gilts and Sows in Group Housing
	Appendix C - Floor Space Allowances for Weaned/Nursery Pigs
	Appendix D - Floor Space Allowances for Grower/Finisher Pigs
	Appendix E - Recommended Minimum Space Allowances for Boars
	Appendix F - Feeder Design
	Appendix G - Water Intake, Recommended Flow Rate and Height of Nipple Drinkers
	Appendix H - The Six Ss: Simple Criteria for Choosing Enrichment for Pigs
	Appendix I - Sow Body Condition Scoring System
	Appendix J - Example of Decision Tree for Euthanasia
	Appendix K - Pig Vision and Flight Zone
	Appendix L - “Should this Pig be Loaded?” Decision Tree
	Appendix M - Temperature - Humidity Index Table
	Appendix N - Methods of Euthanasia
	Appendix O - Resources for Further Information
	Appendix P - Participants
	Appendix Q - Summary of Code Requirements

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