The province has tightened controls on poultry in the face of a growing number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. With fall bird migrations in full wing, the province’s chief veterinary officer reintroduced an order on October 14 indefinitely prohibiting the comingling of flocks. The order applies to all poultry, fowl, guinea fowl, peafowl, …
Animal activists sentenced
Two activists convicted for their part in the April 2019 invasion of Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford have been sentenced to 30 days in jail and a year’s probation. Amy Soranno and Nick Shafer received the sentences in Abbotsford on October 12, with the added requirement that they submit their DNA to a national databank …
Abattoir closure leaves producers scrambling
SALMON ARM – Hog producers in the Thompson-Okanagan are without a processor after Salmon Arm’s Rocana Meats suddenly closed in August. “It has been really, really hard for producers in that area. It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” says Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director and project manager Julia Smith. “Most people are …
Dry fall, wet winter ahead
A long, dry fall may be just what many growers caught out by the late spring wanted, but the warm, sunny weather prompted provincial authorities to raise the drought rating in many parts of the province to the highest level last week. The Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Western Vancouver Island are all now at …
New child worker rules
Certain work will now be off limits to workers under the age of 18, according to new rules the BC Ministry of Labour announced October 11. BC farms can no longer allow youth under the age of 18 to work in confined spaces or work with “dangerous equipment” at on-farm abattoirs. A chainsaw is also …
BC jug recovery up
BC is one of the smaller markets for agricultural plastics in Canada, accounting for 7% of total annual tonnage nationwide. But fresh numbers from national stewardship organization Cleanfarms indicate that BC is recycling more of that plastic than ever before. Data for 2021 indicate 118,892 small pesticide and fertilizer containers (less than 23 litres) were …