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ALBERTA LOOSENS SLAUGHTER RULES

The Alberta government announced in late July that it would allow the slaughter of animals on farms for meat sales to consumers, loosening regulations after the coronavirus pandemic interrupted production at its biggest packing plants.

Alberta previously restricted the consumption of meat from animals slaughtered outside of governmentinspected plants to farmers and their households. Some farmers and mobile butchers, who travel from farm to farm, wanted the provincial government to ease the regulations to be more in line with those in other western Canadian provinces.

Under revised regulations, the meat from animals killed by mobile butchers and farmers licensed to carry out uninspected slaughter can be sold directly by farmers to the public, said Agriculture Ministry spokesman Justin Laurence. The Ministry also noted that such meat cannot be sold in stores.

Coronavirus outbreaks interrupted production this spring at several Alberta beef plants, leaving feedlots with a backlog of slaughter-ready cattle and boosting retail meat prices.

“Alberta beef producers have been asking for increased processing capabilities for several years and this is a positive step forward,” said Kelly Smith-Fraser, a rancher and chair of Alberta Beef Producers.