Operators of an assembly yard attached to the Olymel processing plant in Red Deer are jumping in front of a set of videos revealing incidents of animal abuse inside the facility.
“If we have systems and we have procedures that are broken, we will fix them,” Western Hog Exchange Chairman Brent Moen said about video footage taken by a former employee revealed to be an operative with an animal rights group, Mercy For Animals.
On its home page, the group defines itself as being in the business of promoting compassion for animals and a vegetarian diet for humans.
Officials from Western Hog Exchange, a non-profit group operating the assembly yards attached to the plant, were given a one-time opportunity on Sept. 17 to review an edited version of videos shot by the operative, who worked in the plant during June and July.
The videos are to be included in a future edition of the CTV current affairs program, W5.
“What they were able to do was condense probably hours and hours of video into eight different segments that they (W5) wanted to show us,” said Moen in a telephone interview with Prairie Hog Country a few days after the viewing.
”Some of the things that they highlighted in the video at that particular point in time did not meet the minimum acceptable standards that we have for treatment of animals, or euthanasia, etc.,” said Moen.
“The video footage is real. Obviously, we believe that this operative of Mercy For Animals was working in our facility for well over two months. Over that period of time, she was able to video an awful lot of stuff and we run a lot of pigs through the facility on a weekly basis.”
Officials from CTV advised the WHE management group that the upcoming program will examine the management of pigs in eight different areas, including stall crowding, tusk removal, euthanasia, transportation stress and treatment of sick or lame animals.
WHE officials jumped into action as soon as they learned about the videos, said Moen, hiring two independent experts to examine policies and practices inside the Red Deer assembly yard.
“We have brought in two independent specialists to have them completely review our training manual, our processes, the day-to-day operations of our facilities, from a standpoint of everything from the overcrowding of animals to euthanasia”
WHE has also enlisted guidance from the Alberta SPCA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which oversees operations at WHE’s facilities.
“We contacted the SPCA and the CFIA, and we also asked W5 that the entire video, the uncut version of the video, be shipped to them.”
CTV would not release the entire collection of footage, stating that it was the property of Mercy For Animals.
Moen said he was shocked to see various breaches of company standards when the eight videos, totalling 35 minutes, were played for the WHE board and senior managers.
“WHE and its predecessor have operated that facility for close to 20 years. Over that period of time, we have constantly improved our processes and policies in line with recommendations from the CFIA (and) from industry.
“We have always felt that we were not just average in our standards, but that we exceeded the standards wherever possible.
“When we were faced with the video, myself as the chairman of the board, I was shocked at some of the stuff that they showed in the video. But then, their purpose is to shock you.”
While some of the incidents shown were clear cases of animal abuse, others raised some questions not because of what was shown, but because of what was left out.
For example, one video showed a downer hog left in obvious distress after a shipment was unloaded.
“When you’ve got a downer animal . . . and the people are trying to deal with it, the first thing to do is sort of leave them alone for a few minutes. Then the employee may have come back off camera and, after consultation with management or the CFIA vet, then the decision can be made, well, we’ve got to put that animal down.
“What the video could show is that, here’s this specific incident, but they don’t want to show that, five minutes later, it was dealt with accordingly. You really don’t know what happens in the few minutes after the video was shut off.”
Moen said his organization’s goal is to ensure that animals are handled as safely and carefully as possible. However, because they are living creatures, there is always potential for problems.
“This is not something that happens on every load of pigs that comes in, or on every animal that comes through the facility.
“I believe that every farmer that produces an animal or delivers it to us, every trucker that moves the animals from farm to the assembly yard, that every person that works in the assembly yard, really does want to do what’s best for the animals and make sure that animals are all treated in the best possible manner. That to me is fundamental.
“When you’re dealing with animals, things don’t go right 100 per cent of the time. So then, what you have to do is deal with the situations that happen and you try to put in as many corrective action procedures as you can to minimize a long-term impact.”
It would be impossible to reduce the number of incidents to zero, said Moen.
“We deal in a situation where animals are attacked (by other animals), weather gets hot, there can be equipment failures, something happens that causes injuries to an animal and then you have to deal with it. You have to deal with it as quickly as possible, as humanely as possible. That is part and parcel of the industry that we work in.”
While the videos reveal some issues in the way animals have been treated at the yard, Moen said he questions the group’s motivations.
He asked why, if Mercy For Animals really wanted to help those pigs, did they wait so long before coming forward with their findings.
“Ironically, as part of the training program for every employee that works for us, they sign off on a document stating that, if they see any incidents of animal abuse, they are to report that to management immediately. None of these things that she has filmed were ever presented to management while she was working for us,” said Moen.
“If Mercy For Animals’ goal was really driven by concern for the animals, I would wonder why they have sat on the tapes for this long without actually turning it over to the SPCA or CFIA.”
The woman who shot the videos quit her job in August, he said.
“I would like to challenge Mercy for Animals or this person that basically came in and took wages from our company under what I would call false pretenses – I would challenge that they donate those wages back to the Alberta SPCA or the food bank.”
Moen took umbrage with the idea of someone taking a job and collecting wages from WHE while motivated by her organization to launch an attack against its operations.
“It seems underhanded to me that they would work for us, collect our wages, and then ultimately use that to support their own cause,” he said.
“I don’t like the fact that she took the videos, but I will say this: They did reveal some certain pitfalls in our programs, and if that will lead to us improving our standards and providing better overall animal husbandry to the animals we bring in to our facility on a daily basis, then at the end of the day, there will be some positives that come out of it.”
A W5 camera crew interviewed Moen on camera immediately after he was shown the videos. CTV has not stated when the program will go to air.
WHE’s Red Deer assembly yard employs 20 people who handle an average of 40,000 pigs per week. All but a few hundred boars and culled sows head directly into Olymel for slaughter.
WHE is a non-profit organization established in 1996 and owned by a group of hog producers who own its shares. Entirely self-funded, it is operated through the leadership of seven directors elected from among its shareholders. •
— By Brenda Kossowan