Funding for a report on the condition of cattle arriving at auction markets and processing plants is welcome news to Alberta Farm Animal Care.

Executive Director Angela Greter says they've received $270,000 to review the practices surrounding the transportation of cattle.

"We're going to be collecting data on the condition of cattle that we find at auction markets and abattoirs in Alberta, both the federally licensed plants like Cargill and the smaller provincial abattoirs," Greter says. "So we're looking for conditions that really shouldn't be transported or if they're allowed to be transported that they're doing it properly."

She says it could be anything from broken legs to cancer eye to an abscess or lameness and by doing the analysis they can determine the risk factors involved in the animal showing up there in that condition. It could be inclement weather, either too hot or too cold, which is why the study will be done over a so they can figure out if the weather plays a role.

She says without the funding they wouldn't be able to do the project at all.

"It is such a significant project, there's so many players and so much data analysis," she says. "Total funding is $268,000 so as a small non-profit, without the funding we wouldn't be able to do it."

She says a program like this should benefit both the animal and the consumer because if they can determine what's going on, what's being shipped and what's not ok, they can fix it by increasing communications with commodity groups and shippers to make sure they're not shipping those animals. She says as far as the consumer is considered it should increase food safety.

Greter says it should also benefit the industry as a whole because everyone is pulling together on this issue so if one group needs to do something to support another that's what will happen.

The money is part of the government's Growing Forward 2 strategy.

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