Ramping up best practice loading

Transportation is a critical phase in the red meat value chain, with great importance placed on ensuring livestock are ‘fit to load'. If livestock are stressed, contaminated or injured during assembly or transport before being sent for processing, they may pose a food safety or biosecurity risk as well as animal welfare concerns.  

An essential element of MLA’s Fit to load guide is the utilisation of appropriate loading facilities that are fit for purpose – as outlined in the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Livestock at Saleyards and Depots. Maintaining a standard for equipment and loading practices can ease the process of loading livestock onto transport vehicles, which will minimise any stress on livestock. 

Safety standards for ramps and pens 

Standards Australia developed AS 5340:2020 Livestock loading/unloading ramps and forcing pens to promote consistency of loading standards across the farming sector.  

This safety standard aims to assist the many agricultural businesses in Australia that regularly use livestock ramps, particularly those within the red meat sector. Alongside the expertise of industry, the pre-existing Australian Livestock & Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) Guidelines for Ramps and Forcing Yards helped steer the development of the standard. 

This standard sets out requirements to enable people to safely load and unload livestock from vehicles used to transport them and ensure the safety of livestock and handlers. It covers: 

• Stockyard panels 
• Gates 
• Latches 
• Surfaces 
• Sheeting 
• Walkways and access 
• Structural elements 
• Vehicle access 
• Examples of ramp design and infill positioning 
• Guidelines for risk management 

The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines – Land Transport of Livestock is another guide that can be used to understand the requirements of livestock loading facilities, with notes including: 

• GA3.1 - Facilities, vehicles, crates and containers should provide a suitable environment to minimise the risk to the welfare of livestock from extremes of temperature, weather and humidity. 
• GA3.4 - Vehicle gates and facilities should be sufficiently wide to ensure easy movement of livestock and to minimise injuries. 
• GA3.13 - Solid yard extensions should be used to cover any gaps between the loading ramp floor and the floor of the vehicle through which an animal or part of an animal might go down. 
• GA3.14 - Railings on ramps and raceways should be of appropriate height, with the gaps sufficiently narrow at the bottom to prevent livestock being caught, slipping through or becoming injured. 
• GA3.15 - Ramps need to be wide enough to ensure easy movement and should be of an appropriate slope for the species and class of livestock. 

It is important to maintain best practice to ensure livestock do not experience stress or harm. Even if livestock are themselves fit-to-load, faulty or unclean equipment can lead to physical and disease-based contamination, meaning stock will be unsuitable for processing and consumption. 

Regularly cleaning vehicles is essential to prevent moving foreign contaminants from property to property or across state borders, which, in the event of a biosecurity incident, could cause greater spread and further contamination throughout the value chain. Injured livestock also pose a higher risk for infection, so producers must ensure consistent checks of their livestock health and vehicle safety. 

The frequent maintenance of vehicles is also crucial to the safety of workers and the workplace. Transporters and other value chain workers are equally at risk of injury and illness as a result of unsafe equipment. The above standards are a way to complement the requirements of Workplace Health & Safety laws, highlighting the importance of avoiding injury and contamination at all costs. 

Livestock stress on transport vehicles 

Producers must ensure they do everything they can to minimise livestock stress and contamination during assembly and transport. This includes: 

• Keeping detailed records of livestock movements 
• Only selecting animals for transport that are fit to travel by referring to the national ‘Fit to Load’ guide 
• Inspecting vehicles prior to livestock transportation 
• Choosing transport operators that operate in accordance with a recognised quality assurance program, such as Trucksafe 
• Ensuring loading facilities are suitable for use. 

Property owners with facilities in place for loading, including ramps, vehicles and yards, must take the time to maintain them through cleaning, repairs and new construction. Without suitable facilities, livestock may not make it past your yards, affecting their quality and profits.