Page 136 - The Welfare of Cattle

CattLe haVe a reasonabLY Good LIfe 113

Today, the dairy code of practice (DFC-NFACC, 2009) provides the foundation of the Animal
Care module of the Canada’s Pro-Action: a mandatory animal-welfare assessment that is currently
being implemented in Canada and will be required of all dairy farms. As with all science-based
standards of animal care the incorporation of new scientific evidence is key to the long-term sus-
tainability of the industry. We see some risk for the Canadian Dairy Industry given that the Code is
only scheduled to be revised every 10 years (NFACC, 2014) and thus may not reflect the most recent
scientific evidence or societal values.
In the USA, the National Federation of Milk Producers (NMPF) created the F.A.R.M. program
(Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) in 2009 (NMPF, 2017). Currently on version 3, the
program guidance document is revised every 3 years. Initially drafted by an NMPF-appointed tech-
nical writing committee that includes representatives from the NMPF board of directors, various
milk cooperatives, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, an audit company as well as scien-
tific and veterinary advisors, the draft document is then transferred to the NMPF staff who then
sends it to select external stakeholders for public comment. The resulting comments are reviewed by
NMPF with the final version voted on by the NMPF board of directors (NMPF, 2017).

aUDItS

What Is an audit?

While many people are familiar with the word “audit,” there is often much confusion as to
how a first-party audit differs from a second-party audit or a third-party audit, particularly when
applied to animal welfare in the context of the supply chain. The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is a global federation of national standards bodies whose technical commit-
tees are responsible for drafting international standards and who we have relied on to provide clarity
on this matter (ISO, 2011). Under the heading of Quality Management and Quality Assurance (ISO,
2011), this organization provides specific guidelines regarding the process of auditing management
systems and in ISO/IEC 17021 they provide guidance on the management of an audit program. It is
not our intent to provide a complete review of the ISO standards but to explain briefly some of the
basic definitions formally associated with audits and auditing. An audit is a systematic, independent,
and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the
extent to which the audit criteria are fulfilled (ISO, 2011). Audit evidence includes records, state-
ments of fact or other information, which are relevant and verifiable. An auditor conducts the audit
to collect evidence to evaluate whether the system conforms, or fulfills specific audit requirements.
There are six key principles to auditing (ISO, 2011).

1. Integrity
2. Fair presentation—the obligation to report truthfully and accurately
3. Due professional care—the application of diligence and judgment in auditing
4. Confidentiality
5. Independence—the basis for impartiality of the audit and objectivity of the audit conclusions being
free from bias and conflict of interest
6. Evidence based—reliable and reproducible audit conclusions rely on verifiable audit evidence. This
requires an appropriate sample size and sample methodology.
It is important to recognize that while the first four principles are dependent on the auditors
themselves, the last two are dependent on to whom the auditor is accountable and how the audit is
written. In Table 11.1, we have outlined the three most common audit approaches, first party, second
party, and third party, and where some of the industry audits that address farm animal welfare fall
in terms of the type of approach and which principles can be met by each approach. Understanding