Should you put your cows in at night?

It's a decision for those who can make that choice. " Cows are not allowed to sleep in barns in Manitoba, but the rules for the rest of the province are fuzzy, with some livestock producers opting not to make the move.

The province's new livestock licensing regulations— the first of their kind in the country— were introduced in June in an effort to bring new rules and accountability to the province's 1. 8 million dairy, chicken, wool, beef, goat and lamb producers.

The regulations require slaughterhouses to have sprinklers in their buildings and restrict the presence of livestock in certain areas, such as barns, stables and paddocks, to help prevent cruelty- to- animals incidents at farms.

A dairy farmer, who did not want to be identified, was quoted in Monday's National Post newspaper on how dairy cows were sometimes left in their stalls alone: "Sometimes, my cows go in at night and it's very difficult for them to get out, because there are dogs or cats in the space.

But they're so used to sleeping on their haunches, they don't think something like this is a possibility. " It's a question that has long troubled Manitoba farmers, the National Post noted. Some livestock operators were quoted saying when it comes to keeping cows awake and out of their stalls, they don't feel a need to implement a sprinkler system (at least not yet) .

But some experts were more explicit: "There is no doubt that cows spend a lot of time out of their stalls and they could cause injury or injury to themselves with their feet, so we do need to get better, " said Bruce MacDonald, a professor of livestock science at the University of Guelph.

A farmer cited at the National Post said that having to put a barn door between cows and other animals can create more problems, such as horses being forced into the pens while animals lie prone in their stalls.

"It would make it harder for them to walk down to pasture. " READ MORE: Manitoba bans all- night slaughterhouses: What you need to know In Quebec, the province had strict rules for putting livestock in their stalls between 7 p.

m. and 8 p. m. but there was a loophole: "To help keep cows awake and out of stalls, some growers, particularly in the spring and summer months, have put barn doors up near their coops or barns. " "They [cow] can be a problem, because they don't have the ability to walk down to pasture.

... They're so used to sleeping on their haunches that they need a cover that keeps them moving. " A cattle rancher who told the National Post that his animals were out in the pasture at night was quoted by the newspaper saying he didn't see an issue with putting cows in their stalls: "I believe it will be a good thing in society because that means that people will try and come across some kind of problems that have not occurred before.

" According to the Canadian Dairy Society, there were 4, 000 calves slaughtered between 2015- 2016, but there could be another 8, 000 calves in the same situation. To date, there have been 459 reported deaths associated with live cow production in Canada, a rate of about 20 a year.

The Canadian Meat and Seafood Institute (CMIS, whose president, Jim Muir, is a Manitoba farmer) agrees. "Dairy cattle are the second largest animal industry in Canada and yet the government recognizes there is no way to stop the slaughter of animals by using modern technologies and equipment, " Muir said in a statement issued Feb.

7. "The issue is not humane care and production, but the lack of regulation that prevents producers and retailers from enforcing the current standards and regulations. "