Posted on 04/30/2013, 8:17 am, by Farmscape.Ca

The National Farm Animal Care Council reports a revised Pig Code of Practice will be released for public comment June 1.

The National Farm Animal Care Council in partnership with industry stakeholders, the veterinary medical community, animal welfare organizations and government, is coordinating the revision of eight codes of practice, including the Pig Code of Practice.

NFACC general manager and project coordinator Jackie Wepruk reports the Pig Code Committee has completed its task, of developing a draft code of practice, which will be released for public comment June 1.

Every code goes through a 60 day public comment period and that allows for multiple stakeholders to provide their input on the code of practice.

We certainly invite and desire a high level of producer input into the draft code.

The code goes up on NFACC’s website.

We have a public comment period process that enables us to take full advantage of the diverse and the significant interest that there has been on even previous codes that have already gone through this process and enables us to organize the feedback that we’re getting in a way that the code development committee can fully consider the input.

Once the code goes up on NFACC’s web site, we do a press release to inform everyone that it’s ready for public comment.

We provide the instructions as to how to most effectively ensure that your comments are taken into consideration and provide the mechanism for everyone to provide that input.

Then, at the end of the 60 day public comment period, the pig code development committee will come together again to consider all the feedback that has been provided and to finalize the code.

Wepruk notes all of the codes are being developed though project funding which runs out December 31 of this year so the revised code must be in place by that time.