Animal Welfare Coordinator
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Job Summary
Our client is a well-established family-owned pork processing company with more than 30 years of industry leadership. Their commitment to quality innovation and responsible growth has helped them deliver some of the freshest highest-quality products in the market.
Position Summary
The Animal Welfare Coordinator is responsible for ensuring humane handling care and slaughter of pigs in compliance with CFIA regulatory requirements the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and applicable animal welfare standards. This role provides on-floor oversight of live receiving lairage stunning and slaughter activities ensuring that animal welfare risks are identified corrected and prevented.
The position serves as the primary animal welfare subject-matter expert within the plant and works closely with CFIA veterinary inspectors operations and QA personnel.
Key Responsibilities
Animal Welfare & Humane Handling
- Monitor animal handling practices from live receiving through stunning and bleeding
- Verify effectiveness of stunning methods (electrical / CO₂ / captive bolt as applicable)
- Ensure pigs are handled calmly and without unnecessary stress or suffering
- Confirm animals showing signs of distress injury or illness are managed appropriately
- Ensure compliance with humane slaughter regulatory requirements
Monitoring & Verification
- Conduct routine and documented animal welfare monitoring checks and audits
- Verify critical animal welfare control points including:
- Stocking density in lairage
- Water access and environmental conditions
- Stunning effectiveness and insensibility
- Stocking density in lairage
- Immediately stop the process when humane handling is compromised
- Initiate and document corrective actions for deviations
Documentation & Records
- Maintain accurate animal welfare records required under the Preventive Control Plan (PCP)
- Complete daily logs deviation reports and corrective action records
- Ensure records are complete legible and available for CFIA inspection
- Support traceability documentation related to live animal handling
Training & Competency
- Train plant employees on animal welfare procedures and expectations
- Support onboarding and refresher training for live-animal handlers and slaughter staff
- Verify employee competency in humane handling and stunning activities
- Reinforce a culture of animal welfare awareness and accountability
Regulatory & CFIA Liaison
- Act as the primary contact for CFIA animal welfare-related verification activities
- Participate in CFIA inspections audits and investigations
- Respond to CFIA non-compliance findings and support corrective actions
- Assist with regulatory updates and implementation of new requirements
Continuous Improvement
- Identify trends in animal welfare data and recommend improvements
- Participate in root cause analysis for animal welfare incidents
- Support internal audits and management review processes
- Collaborate with operations and maintenance to improve equipment and procedures
- Attention to detail and observation skills
- Sound judgment and confidence in decision-making
- Calm respectful approach to animal handling
- Strong communication and training ability
- Accountability and integrity
- Ability to work cross-functionally with operations and QA
What Success Looks Like
- Animals are consistently handled in a calm humane and compliant manner
- No major non-conformances in audits or inspections
- Reduced incidents of animal distress or injury
- Clear up-to-date animal welfare procedures and documentation
- Team demonstrates understanding and accountability for animal welfare practices
This posting is for a newly created position.
Requirements
Qualifications & Experience
- Post-secondary education in:
- Animal Science
- Agriculture
- Veterinary Technology
- Related field
- Animal Science
- Hands-on experience in a slaughter or meat processing facility
- Strong knowledge of:
- Humane handling practices
- Animal behaviour and welfare indicators (particularly swine)
- Humane handling practices
- Experience working with OMAFA and/or CFIA regulations
- Familiarity with animal welfare certification programs (e.g. industry audits/standards)
- Understanding of food safety principles within a HACCP environment
Core Competencies
- Post-secondary education in:
Benefits
Typical Benefits
Required Skills:
Requirements Qualifications & Experience Post-secondary education in: Animal Science Agriculture Veterinary Technology Related field Hands-on experience in a slaughter or meat processing facility Strong knowledge of: Humane handling practices Animal behaviour and welfare indicators (particularly swine) Experience working with OMAFA and/or CFIA regulations Familiarity with animal welfare certification programs (e.g. industry audits/standards) Understanding of food safety principles within a HACC
Required Education:
RequirementsQualifications & ExperiencePost-secondary education in:Animal ScienceAgricultureVeterinary TechnologyRelated fieldHands-on experience in a slaughter or meat processing facilityStrong knowledge of:Humane handling practicesAnimal behaviour and welfare indicators (particularly swine)Experience working with OMAFA and/or CFIA regulationsFamiliarity with animal welfare certification programs (e.g. industry audits/standards)Understanding of food safety principles within a HACC
