Hans Kristensen

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Hans Kristensen is a pork and poultry farmer in Maritime Canada, managing farms in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Six years ago, he was pleased to be invited to serve as a board member to the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC). “I had always had a lot of respect for NFACC and what they did, but until I got more involved, I realized I’d only known about 10 per cent of their work — really, just the tip of the ice berg,” he said. NFACC is the national lead for farm animal care and welfare in Canada. Made up of a broad cross-section of shareholders including farmers, government, animal welfare organizations, researchers, restaurant operators, veterinarians, retailers, transporters, and processors, it is tasked with overseeing the process by which the national Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals are reviewed and updated. There are currently 14 Codes of Practice for various species of livestock developed through NFACC. They provide critical guidance for the care and handling of farm animals, and serve as a base of national understanding of animal care requirements and recommended practices. Kristensen, now NFACC’s chair, said, “A lot of times in society, the stakeholders working together on NFACC committees might be more inclined to be on opposing sides of a discussion. But we’ve all got more in common than we might initially realize. Everyone at the table is in animal welfarist. We all have the same goal — to continue to move animal welfare practices forward. And if we can change confrontation to consensus, the entire industry benefits.” Once a Code is developed, it is reviewed every five years, and then goes through a significant update every ten years. “I view them as living documents,” said Kristensen. “Just because it’s signed off on by all participants and put in a binder doesn’t mean it’s finished. As new technologies emerges, new viewpoints come forward and new science is learned, [and] it all goes into the Code process. We’re always looking to improve animal welfare practices across Canada.” “There is no other organization on earth like NFACC,” Kristensen concluded. “I am exceptionally proud of that because what we do is different. There will always be challenges and different viewpoints on how to care for animals, but through communications and relationship building, we’re making a big difference in the care of animals in Canada.” To learn more about NFACC’s work, visit www.nfacc.ca