Document type : Article published in the Vancouver Sun
Author: Denise Ryan
Documents obtained by Mrs Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice, show that the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board recorded 416,146 deaths during the June 24-30 heat wave, the B.C. Egg Marketing Board recorded 145,000 deaths, the B.C. Turkey Marketing Board recorded 61,000 deaths, and the B.C. Broiler Hatching Egg Commission reported a loss of 29,210 animals.Labchuk said she is concerned that the province's laws have been broken. Under section 9.1 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, it is prohibited to allow an animal to experience distress, and in the definitions section, 1(2)(a.1), the definition of distress includes "not being protected from excessive heat or cold." [...]
"When there is this kind of heat, birds die from heat stress, or if they are laying they drink, stop eating and stop laying," he said.
Mr Falk said he is upgrading cooling systems to prepare for possible extreme heat events, "Because of this event, we are changing the equipment in our new building. We are installing a water curtain and tunnel ventilation where multiple fans pull air through the water curtain."
Preview: Staggering number of farm animal deaths during heat wave reveals high cost of extreme weather events.
It wasn't just humans that suffered during the deadly heat dome that punished B.C. in June.
At least 651,000 animals died on farms as a result of the heat wave, the vast majority of them chicken and other poultry, according to records obtained by animal justice advocate Camille Labchuk through a freedom-of-information request.
Chickens are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat because they can't sweat to cool down. During a heat wave, the birds can pant, ruffle their feathers or hold their wings out to try to cool themselves, but require additional help - cooling pads, tunnel ventilation and fans.
Documents obtained by Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, show that the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board recorded 416,146 deaths during the heat dome June 24-30, the B.C. Egg Marketing Board 145,000 deaths, the B.C. Turkey Marketing Board 61,000 and the B.C. Broiler Hatching Egg Commission reported a loss of 29,210 animals. Under Section 9.1 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, it's a contravention to allow an animal to experience distress, and in the definitions section, 1(2)(a.1), distress is defined as including "not protected from excessive heat or cold." […]
Rickson said that farmers did prepare for the heat wave by thinning flocks and sending chickens to be processed early, used cross or tunnel ventilation, misters, cooling pads, and took additional measures such as adding sprinklers and using pressure-washers to lower temperatures in barns[...].
"When there is that kind of heat the birds will die because of heat stress or if they are 'in lay' they just drink, stop eating and stop laying," he said.
Most of his layers survived, but laying dropped to 20 per cent, and it could take months for the layers to recuperate and return to full production.
Falk said he is improving cooling systems to prepare for possible future extreme heat events: "Because of that event we are changing the equipment in our new barn. We are putting in a water curtain and tunnel ventilation where a lot of fans pull air through a water curtain."
Unfortunately for some farmers, said Falk, older barns built in the 1970s and '80s are extremely expensive to retrofit.
Although the heat dome was unprecedented, with temperatures reaching 49.6 C in some parts of B.C., Labchuk believes more should have been done to protect farm animals.
