Posted: October 30th, 2009 - 7:53pm
Source: TheStar.com

OTTAWA -– Chickens cannot vote and there are no pigs on the list of registered lobbyists, but a Quebec Liberal MP is rushing to the aid of tired and thirsty livestock on their way to your plate.
"We would like animals in transit from farms to slaughterhouses to be given some sort of respect and comfort until they get to the slaughterhouse," Alexandra Mendes (Brossard-La Prairie) said Thursday of her private member's bill to amend federal regulations on food and water for animals in transit.
The current rules allow cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants (animals with more than one stomach) to be confined on the road for up to 48 hours without food or water (or 52 hours if they reach their final destination in Canada before then).
Horses, pigs and other animals with one stomach can be held in the same hungry and thirsty state for no more than 36 hours.
"I was literally flabbergasted," Mendes said after a constituent informed her of the time limits. "I had no idea that those were the rules we were still running things under."
Her bill would lower the limit to 12 hours for the ruminants and eight hours for the other animals to match standards in the European Union.
New Democrat agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko seconded the bill when Mendes introduced it to the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Animal welfare groups applauded the move as an overdue step in the right direction.