Bison Welfare Dr. Terry Church, DVM, MSc Ranch Manager Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch, Calgary Alberta

Church History

Handling Bison 1.Handling Systems for bison  Higher and stronger than cattle handling systems 2.Understand their behavior or nature  Bison seldom vary or change their behavior. When stressed, their first instinct is to return to where they came from. Very herd orientated, “lose one lose them all”, tail straight up, animals very upset 3.Squeeze – Longer and more robust  Must have crash gate, no pinch at the bottom 4.Separate the bulls from the group as soon as possible 5.Dehorning is not required  If deemed necessary, use anesthetic to control pain Bison Welfare

Transportation 1.Use Low Stress Handling  Handle in small batches  Pre socialized groups 2.Use dividers in trailers and separate by age and size, especially mature bulls Bison Welfare

Use Electric Prods as Last Resort! Bison Welfare

Bison can and will kick hard Bison Welfare

Feed and Water 1.Bison prefer to drink water vs eating snow 2.Do not water on ice on dugouts, lakes or rivers – danger of drowning. 3.Bison are adapted to coarser/lower quality forage/roughage than cattle, and generally do not require protein supplementation. 4.Generally bloat resistant. 5.Bison are quite adaptable, but can not thrive on snow balls and straw alone. 6.Minerals and salt blocks are often used Bison Welfare

Bison do not require shelter in winter Bison Welfare

Animal/Human Safety  Proper design and operation of facilities, avoid sharp/square corners, use a curved system.  Ensure that gates will latch or lock properly  Small batches are always better than one big one.  Keep the people on the outside at ground level when working bison. Bison Welfare

Animal Health 1.Valid veterinary client – patient relationship is recommended  Vaccination program  Deworming protocol  Disease prevention strategy – sheep (MCF) and mycoplasma pneumonia 2.Strategy/plan to deal with sick or impaired/injured animals 3.Adequate and acceptable means of euthanasia Bison Welfare

Pastures and Pens  Fencing needs to be higher and more wires, or game fence, than cattle fences to contain bison. Very few wire fences will keep bison in if they are hungry.  Train bison to move to new pasture by slow and gentle herding. New pastures are a reward ! Bison Welfare

Slaughter Facilities 1.Ensure that facilities are designed to handle bison – higher and more robust than for cattle. 2.Use properly designed stunning or “knocking box”. Shooting them on the trailer is not acceptable. 3.All animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, including at the slaughter plants. Bison Welfare

Questions??? Bison Welfare