Animal welfare in training spotlight

From January, it has become mandatory for feedlots to have an accredited animal welfare officer if they are part of the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS).

The animal welfare officer course, also supported by Zoetis, is aimed at providing feedlot managers, supervisors, key training personnel and quality assurance officers with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills for the management, assessment, auditing and on-the-job training when it comes to animal welfare in a feedlot operation.

Feedlot veterinarian, Professor Paul Cusack, of Australian Livestock Production Services, and ALFA Technical Services Officer, Jeff House, are the presenters of the training and will run face-to-face and virtual sessions in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

The course consists of practical skills from on-site (feedlot) work-based assignments and a post-course assessment process.

On completion of these on-site and post-training activities, participants will be issued with a Statement of Attainment from TAFE Queensland (RTO Number 0275) for the Animal Welfare Officer Skill Set.

This includes competencies for applying animal welfare and handling requirements and overseeing humane handling of animals.

Professor Cusack said, ideally, each Australian feedlot should have one or more accredited animal welfare officers.

He said the accreditation course covered a full animal welfare "audit" of a feedlot with the trainers to identify risks to animal welfare and how to best address these.

"Participants can then use this approach in their own feedlot to conduct a similar audit every six or 12 months," he said.

"It is about providing tips and tools to achieve this and ensure Australian feedlots are managing animal welfare to the highest standards and practices."

Professor Cusack said this was a proactive approach, as the lot feeding industry already had a reputation for having a very high standard of animal welfare across the board.

"We offer this accreditation course nationally to help standardise and recognise existing best practices in the sector," he said.

"A lot of it comes down to recording and monitoring what feedlots are already doing."

Professor Cusack said feedlots would benefit from the animal welfare training officer initiative in many ways.

"There will be a greater understanding of the underlying factors behind excellent animal welfare," he said.

"And we deliver a practical approach to maintain high standards of welfare year-in and year-out."

Participants in the training need a Unique Student Identifier (USI) number and completed TAFE Student Personal Details Form, which can be found on the ALFA website.

Keep an eye on the website for when registrations open.

Courses are planned for:

Specific venue location details will be provided on enrolment confirmation.

See here for more information.