In this second edition of “Notes from This Marketers Pen,” let’s discuss a little bit more about who we are as a company, as well as what we do.
Canadian Rangeland Bison & Elk Inc. is a marketing and distribution company committed to supplying customers looking for a healthy, tasty, and exclusive choice in red meat with the best quality bison and elk meat. All our products are antibiotic, growth promotant, and animal by-product free. We are one of very few third party certified marketer of bison, and in collaboration with SGS, we undergo a yearly auditing program to ensure the top quality of bison, from the farm gate to the consumer plate.
By holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards, both our producers and consumers can be assured that our organization meets all requirements of animal welfare, food safety, food quality, as well as social and occupational responsibilities.
At Canadian Rangeland Bison & Elk, we believe wholeheartedly in the value of staying local; that is, supporting our local producers by buying animals from them, and processing our animals locally as well. This demonstrates that we keep the animals welfare in mind. As discussed in a study by McCorkell et. al. (2013), long haul transport and excessive handling of the bison create physiological challenges and psychological disruptions in which bruising is even more likely in bison (as compared to cattle). As the vast majority of our animals travel 8 hours or less to the abattoir, the stress on the animals is minimized, preserving carcass yield and meat quality. Additionally, this travel time meets international standards of animal transport, which is of extreme importance to our markets, especially central markets such as the EU. So why should this matter for the producer? To begin with, they can be offered reassurance that their animals are being treated in a humane way. This will come back to benefit producers, as consumers wanting top quality bison and elk meat will create a demand that our local producers can fill. As a principal element, our producers can feel pride knowing that they are contributing to supporting the Canadian bison industry as a whole.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay bison strong.
To stay up to date with what is happening at Canadian Rangeland, follow us on Twitter or Facebook, visit our website, phone 1-877-844-2231; or email [email protected].
Reference:
McCorkell, R., Wynne-Edwards, K., Galbraith, J., Schaefer, A., Caulkett, N., Boysen, S. (2013). Transport versus on-farm slaughter of bison: Physiological stress, animal welfare, and avoidable trim losses. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 54(8), 769–774.
