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Orcas, 'Freedom Food' and the World BankDate posted: April 26, 2006What they mean for the future farm animal welfare and Canada's livestock industries. UBC's Dr. David Fraser plays tour guide, offering perspective on five key indicators of the emerging new era.  Dr. David Fraser speaks to livestock industry representatives at the Livestock Care Conference, hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care. Dr. David Fraser is one of the world's top experts on animal welfare developments, but even he gets surprises. "A few weeks ago, I received a document that was circulated for discussion called 'Creating business opportunities through improved animal welfare,'" recalls Fraser, professor in the University of British Columbia's (UBC) Animal Welfare Program. "The title sounded like a fairly idealistic" he thought, "like something you might expect to see coming from an animal protection organization. But once I noticed the logo, I knew this was different." The logo, a black and white globe followed by the block letters IFC, indicated none other than the International Finance Corporation - the investment arm of the powerful and influential World Bank. The IFC currently has 300 million dollars invested in livestock operations, especially poultry and swine, in less industrialized nations that collectively are fast becoming the world's highest volume meat producers.  The Livestock Care Conference drew more than 170 participants - its highest attendance to date. To Fraser, the document represented a sea change in global attention to animal welfare: "When the World Bank becomes an agent of change for animal welfare, we realize we've entered a different world." Read the complete article on the Alberta Farm Animal Care Web site. Reprintable with permission. Reproduction of this article - in whole or in part, in print or electronic - requires direct permission from Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. Contact Meristem directly to request reprint permission. |
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Livestock industry tackles new era in animal welfare 