“I was down at Maple Leaf this morning,” said Dr. Temple Grandin.  
“The animal handling in Brandon is marvellous.”
Grandin, one of the most celebrated animal advocates in the world, spoke at an animal welfare seminar for Brandon farmers and public on Wednesday at the Victoria Inn’s Imperial Ballroom.
More than 650 people showed up to hear one of Time Magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World (2010) speak to Brandon’s animal handlers and help them better their skills, their farms and their slaughter plants last Wednesday.
Grandin is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University as well as a best-selling author of several books on animal and human interactions, including her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behaviour. Dr. Grandin has designed livestock handling facilities such as curved chutes and race systems that are used in different parts of the world and is a philosophical leader of animal welfare, neurology and philosophy.
On top of all of this, Dr. Temple Grandin is the most accomplished and well known adult with autism in the world.
Grandin has won many awards for her work and it was an honour to have her speak in Brandon.
A few topics Grandin touched on during her 90 minute speech was bad animal management at slaughter houses and how to improve it, how to make your animals more comfortable and verbally training people how to improve their livestock.
“Good management means paying attention to small details,” said Grandin after mentioning how reducing reflections and shadows will calm the animals and how much of a difference installing non-slip floors will make.
Grandin also mentioned that a lot of farms are under staffed and over worked which causes the staff to be less attentive to the animals needs and less patient with them.
All of the donations from Wednesdays seminar, Animal Welfare: The Right Thing To Do, we’re directed to the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC).
But Grandin didn’t end her visit there, as she spent Thursday at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium speaking on autism to a sold out crowd of 800+.