Upcoming Meat Plant Welfare Training

The Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization’s (PAACO) Meat Plant Welfare Auditor Course will return to Fremont and Schuyler, Neb., Nov. 3-4 for two days of interactive training.  Hormel Foods and Cargill Beef will host the event, which features both classroom training and hands-on experience at swine and beef plants.

Industry professionals will again comprise the instructional staff, which includes Glee Goodner, Hormel’s corporate manager of animal welfare and handling; Dr. Temple Grandin, president of Grandin Livestock Handling Systems; Collette Kaster, vice president of quality technical services for Farmland Foods; and Dr. Mike Siemens, leader of animal welfare and husbandry, Cargill.

While some 63 meat plant auditors have been certified since PAACO’s initial course in February 2006, an increasing number of trainees attend solely for the educational aspect and understanding of welfare that the course covers.
Class size is limited and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first served basis, with an official registration deadline of October 1. Information and registration materials are available at PAACO (www.animalauditor.org)  or through Mike Simpson, executive director, 402-403-0104 or mike@animalauditor.org.

PAACO is comprise of five industry organizations, Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS), American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS), American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) and American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP), with the purpose is to promote the humane treatment of animals through education and certification of animal auditors and to promote the profession of animal auditors.