Health of Animals Regulations transport amendments
Law & Regulation
In Effect
February 20, 2020
Summary
On 20 February 2020, Regulations Amending the Health of Animals Regulations (SOR/2019-38) — published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on 20 February 2019 — came into force following a 12-month delayed implementation period. The amendments replace Part XII (Transport of Animals) of the Health of Animals Regulations with a revised framework governing the transport of live animals into, within, and out of Canada. Key changes include: revised and expanded definitions for “animal,” “compromised,” and “unfit” animals within the transport context; explicit recognition of a “transport continuum” from preparation through unloading; conditions specifying when animals are fit, compromised, or unfit for transport and prohibitions on loading or transporting unfit animals except under narrowly defined conditions; prescribed species-specific and class-specific maximum confinement periods before animals must be unloaded and provided feed, water, and rest; requirements for space allowances, ventilation, and thermal protection during transport; specifications for segregation of incompatible animals; conditions for use of handling tools including prods; vehicle and container standards; and record-keeping obligations for journey documentation and FWR provision. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the enforcement body, with verification conducted at auction markets, assembly points, slaughter facilities, border crossings, and roadside inspections. A two-year transitional compliance-promotion period for feed, water, and rest interval provisions ran until 20 February 2022; from that date all transport provisions are subject to CFIA’s Standard Regulatory Response Process and Administrative Monetary Penalties regime. SOR/2019-38 was made under section 64 of the Health of Animals Act on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The consultation attracted over 51,000 comments from more than 11,000 respondents including farm groups, transporters, veterinarians, advocacy organisations, and members of the public. The pre-amendment Part XII had remained largely unchanged for decades before the 2020 revision.
Background Context
Before SOR/2019-38, Part XII of the Health of Animals Regulations had not been comprehensively revised since at least the late 1970s and did not reflect scientific literature or international guidelines that had developed in the intervening decades. CFIA undertook a multi-year consultation process beginning at least in the early 2000s, with the 2019 amendments emerging from a process documented in a CFIA publication covering consultation steps from 1977 to 2019. The CFIA’s 2019 news release noted that approximately 98% of shipments were already in compliance with the new feed, water, and rest requirements at announcement (a regulator-reported figure, not independently audited). The amendments reference “latest research on animal transportation” and WOAH/OIE international standards. CFIA reported recurring prior enforcement issues with overcrowding, thermal stress, and journey duration as drivers for updating the rules. Prior rules at the time of the Canada Gazette publication had maximum confinement times for some species (for example, pigs at 36 hours) that were significantly longer than the revised provisions; the 28-hour maximum for pigs is the most frequently cited change in industry guidance. The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and species-specific producer organisations engaged with CFIA during consultations and produced member guidance. The bill companion Canada 2019 Health of Animals Act reform bringing these amendments is distinct from Bill C-68 (Fisheries Act amendments, shark fin ban, June 2019) which was enacted in the same period.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Modifies Conditions
Significance
Moderate
SOR/2019-38 was registered and published on 20 February 2019, with a 12-month coming-into-force delay bringing the amended provisions into legal effect on 20 February 2020. Key provisions including species-specific FWR maximum intervals — including a 28-hour maximum without feed, water, and rest for pigs, replacing the prior 36-hour standard — became operative across the Canadian transport continuum on that date. CFIA established a two-year compliance-promotion phase for FWR interval provisions, during which the Agency prioritised education over enforcement; standard enforcement of all provisions began 20 February 2022. CFIA verifies compliance at auction markets, assembly points, federally regulated slaughter establishments, border crossings, and roadside inspections. NFACC and producer organisations issued guidance and training materials for livestock transporters. A 2025 peer-reviewed legal analysis of overcrowding enforcement describes how the amended federal transport rules interact with provincial animal protection laws, indicating ongoing implementation in legal and policy literature. The Justice Laws consolidation confirms the amended Part XII is current law; subsequent amendments (SOR/2021-41, SOR/2021-114, SOR/2022-218, SOR/2024-132, SOR/2025-47, SOR/2025-192) are listed but their interaction with the 2020 transport provisions has not been fully mapped.
Anticipated Effects
If implemented as written and enforced under CFIA’s standard regulatory response process, transporters would plan journeys to ensure animals are not confined beyond species-specific maximum FWR intervals, potentially requiring more frequent unloading, use of rest stops, or shorter individual trips for longer journeys.
If the fitness-to-travel definitions are applied consistently, animals meeting the “unfit” criteria would not be loaded for transport, potentially increasing use of alternative pathways including on-farm euthanasia or veterinary treatment rather than transport to slaughter.
If vehicle and container standards and handling requirements are enforced, investment in updated conveyances and handling infrastructure would be required across the commercial transport sector, altering operational practice for transporters whose existing equipment does not meet the revised standards.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative (impact direction) because the amendments change the conditions and legal standards for animal transport without directly creating or closing production channels or altering animal numbers in the system. Available sources document changes to journey planning, FWR interval requirements, equipment standards, and handling rules, but do not document a quantified contraction or expansion of animal numbers or transport volumes attributable to the amendments.
Assigned Modifies Conditions (impact type) because the primary mechanism is the prescription of new and revised requirements that specify how animal transport must be conducted — maximum FWR intervals, fitness-to-travel standards, space allowances, handling and equipment conditions, and record-keeping obligations. The instrument conditions the operational framework for a continuing system rather than categorically prohibiting or permitting entire transport channels.
Assigned Moderate significance because the amendments apply nationwide across all federally regulated animal transport, affecting all major agricultural sectors and the full range of farmed species transported under federal jurisdiction. The revision is comprehensive within its domain — replacing Part XII in its entirety — but modifies operational conditions rather than discontinuing sectors or creating new exploitation channels.
Impact direction is Neutral / Administrative; the trajectory sentence is not applicable.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Governor in Council made SOR/2019-38 under the Health of Animals Act on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. CFIA administers and enforces Part XII, with inspection staff operating at auction markets, slaughter establishments, border crossings, and roadside. NFACC and species-specific producer organisations (including Ontario Sheep Farmers, NS Cattle Producers, and others) produced member guidance on the revised requirements. Animal advocacy organisations submitted comments during the multi-year consultation process. WOAH/OIE international transport standards informed the regulatory revision.
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