UPEI Vet College Partners With Veal Products Company To Improve Animal Welfare
September 26th, 2014
The Atlantic Veterinary College has signed a partnership agreement with a Quebec veal products company to help the company evolve its animal welfare practices.
Ecolait Ltd., whose headquarters are in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., is working with the AVC’s department of health management under Dr. Daniel Hurnick to study animal protection, animal welfare, herd health studies, housing design, medication trials and meat quality.
In addition to advancing research for the industry, the partnership will lead to the drafting of training manuals and specifications and to the implementation of husbandry protocols intended for producers.
Both AVC and Ecolait hope the co-operation will turn the Quebec industry into a global model.
“Quebec’s milk-fed veal industry must not only in the short term continue to meet international animal welfare standards, but must also become a model on a global scale, and quickly,” said Ecolait president Mario Maillet in a news release. “Given the quality of our researchers, the quality of our workforce and the desire of both consumers and producers, Ecolait is poised to become a model for the entire industry.”
Founded nearly 30 years ago in Quebec and operating plants in Ontario and the United States, Ecolait provides a complete range of veal products. The company works with more than 100 family farms and some 300 employees in Quebec and serves a number of agri-food distribution networks.