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A Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness Initiative

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working to evaluate the current status of the industry as it explores different traceability systems. Over the next few weeks, many pork producers across Canada, including some in Ontario, will receive a survey on traceability and livestock movements.

If you receive a survey, please take the time to complete it and return it to Ontario Pork. Your participation is crucial to the development of Canada's foreign animal disease preparedness strategy.

The results of the survey will help the CFIA move forward with its foreign animal disease preparedness initiative. An outbreak of any type of foreign animal disease in Canada would close all export markets immediately, which, as has become evident during the current BSE crisis, will have a devastating impact on Canadian producers and the Canadian economy.

As part of its foreign animal disease preparedness initiative, the CFIA is looking at the possibility of dividing the country in various zones that could be kept disease free. This would help re-open export markets more rapidly in case of an outbreak. For example, should a foreign animal disease break out in the Maritimes, producers in the west could resume exports more quickly if they, through CFIA, could successfully demonstrate that their zone was free of the disease in question.

In order for the zoning process in Canada to be recognized on an international level, the CFIA must be able to demonstrate traceability and thorough knowledge of livestock movements. The survey that will be mailed out to producers was developed by the CFIA, together with the Canadian Animal Health Coalition, the Canadian Pork Council and the Atlantic Swine Research Partnership.

For more information, contact the Business Development Department at Ontario Pork at
1-877-668-7675.

Source: Ontario Pork, September 2003