PIJAC Canada’s Best Management Practices for Pet Retail considered for the 2019 “Coup de chapeau” award in Quebec!

PIJAC Canada is proud to have been considered for the 2019 “Coup de chapeau” award, an award presented by the Quebec Animal Health and Welfare Strategy. PIJAC Canada’s Best Management Practices program, in partnership with the MAPAQ (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec) was nominated for this award. Our program provides guidance for all players in the pet industry who have the privilege of caring for our pets. The objective is divided into two parts; support pet stores in their day-to-day operations and educate consumers about care-relation practices while opening the door to more important discussions.

PIJAC Canada is a partner organization of the MAPAQ and the Quebec Animal Health and Welfare Strategy since 2011. The objectives of this strategy align well with those of PIJAC Canada, which include being engaged in legislation that affect the pet industry at all levels of government. It supports legislation that benefit the interests of pets, the pet community and the public and oppose policies that are not. One of its objectives is to promote research on reproduction, care, food, treatment, import and maintenance of pets.

The Quebec Animal Health and Welfare Strategy aims to improve the health and well-being of animals in Quebec. Coordinated by the MAPAQ, this strategy relies on consultation, prevention and detection to achieve its objectives. According to the MAPAQ website, the strategy “aims to promote the adoption of farming methods that reconcile the expectations of the population with the requirements of the bio food industry, particularly in terms of animal welfare and economic considerations”. At the Annual Meeting of Partners, partner organizations of the Quebec Animal Health and Welfare Strategy meet to measure the progress of the work being done by these companies. It is at this meeting that the “Coup de chapeau” award is presented to a partner organization to recognize its contribution to achieving the objectives of the strategy. The objectives of the strategy are to better understand the importance of animal health and welfare, to optimize decision-making following disease detection, to improve the health and well-being of the herd through the prevention and management of and adopt farming methods that sustainably improve animal health and well-being. This strategy mainly concerns farm animals, but also targets pets and those that are used for recreational purposes.

This year, the award was presented to the Quebec Poultry Disease Control Team to recognize the establishment of a Quebec poultry compensation scheme. We are proud to have been considered among the five candidates who also have the health and well-being of animals at heart.