An updated version of the American Meat Institute Foundation's animal-handling guidelines is now available.
The guidelines are developed in collaboration with Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State Univ. and Meat&Poultry columnist. The new edition received an updated certification from the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO).
“We are proud of our guidelines’ long history in encouraging continuous improvement in animal handling and welfare in meat-packing plants and of our continuing effort to make this a living, breathing document that is improved and refined based upon new knowledge and real-world experience,” said AMI Animal Welfare Committee Chairman Rob Elder, Ph.D., director of HACCP, Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance at Seaboard Foods.
The "AMI Foundation Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare, July 2013 Edition" has a number of changes detailed on page four of the new document including:
• A clarification has been added that farrowing on trucks should be counted just as calving and lambing are counted.
• A new category called “ambulatory disabled animals” has been added to Core Criteria Six of the Transportation audit to track animals that can still walk and are not severely injured, but appear lame and have some impairment of movement.
• Under Core Criteria 2 of the Sheep Transportation Audit, an omission of “compartments gated” was corrected.
