Raising animals for consumption is rewarding and difficult. You work your hardest to make sure they have a comfortable life with enrichment activities, good health, and tasty food. You get to watch these beautiful creatures grow and change. Then you are faced at the end with letting them go and taking their life. I heard one time from a fellow homesteader that something must die for anything to survive, be that a plant or animal or insects. It is simply a fact of life. I appreciate how simple this outlook is. You want to live; you must be inherently willing to take life from something. Now the only question is, what is the most respectful way to undertake this?
I was hard set that on-farm slaughter was the only humane thing to do. No stress of transport, they pass on in the comfort of their home. In some ways, I still feel this is the most humane way. Unfortunately, in Alberta, offering meat slaughtered on farm to the public isn’t as straight forward as meat slaughtered in an inspected facility. Our current laws allow for on-farm dispatching and processing of an animal for sale to the public. The limitation is that the entire animal must go to a single household. To stick to our beliefs the best we can and still offer heritage meat to you, we have decided for our 2021 season to offer our smaller animals uninspected with on-farm dispatch and processing. For our larger animals, we will be offering their meat inspected and sold by the package. If you have any questions or would like to be adding to our email list, PM us!
Our 3 year old Kunekune x Large Black Sow – Ginger
