Canadian Poultry Researchers Granted New Funding

OTTAWA, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) is pleased to be partnering with the Government of Canada in a major investment in the Canadian Poultry Research Council.

Today, Member of Parliament Ed Fast, on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz, announced an investment of up to $1.8 million to the Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC), to bring together scientific expertise from academia, industry and government to address poultry health, food safety and quality, and production practices. This results from an application by approximately 13 groups to the Canadian Agri-Science Cluster Initiative, representing a significant collaboration in support of poultry research in Canada.

CFC is one of the five founding members of the Canadian Poultry Research Council, which was established in 2001 with a mandate to implement programs for poultry research that address specific current and future industry needs. To date, CFC has approved over $1 million dollars in funding through the CPRC.

"Chicken farmers in Canada have earned the trust of Canadians by continually committing to programs in research, food safety and animal care," said David Fuller, Chair of CFC, "We will continue to work closely with CPRC, our government partners and other stakeholders to ensure that we remain responsive to the needs of the industry, competitive on the world stage and state-of-the-art through ongoing support of poultry research."

This is a product of forward thinking and direction from CFC to complement and continually improve the Canadian chicken industry's reliable and credible on-farm food safety and animal care programs, which have been implemented on farms across Canada.

"The Canadian chicken industry works closely with its partners to ensure that our birds are raised to the highest food safety and animal care standards," adds Fuller, "Research initiatives like these provide further demonstration of our collaborative commitment to improving our system," said Fuller, "We are firmly behind the wheel in the drive for innovation and growth in our industry."

For further information:

Marty Brett, Senior Communications Officer, Chicken Farmers of Canada, at 613-566-5926 or [email protected]

Chicken Farmers of Canada is online at www.chicken.ca.