November 27, 2003

Canada Review Requirements For Cattle Imports From US
 

The Canadian goverment said Tuesday that the Canadian Food Insection Agency (CFIA) has initiated a review of requirements for the importation of feeder cattle from the U.S. into Canadian feed lots.

In a news release, CFIA said Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lyle Vanclief, announced that U.S. feeder cattle imported into western Canada during the summer must be tested and treated to prevent the introduction of bluetongue and anaplasmosis, two livestock diseases that occur in the U.S. and are not present in Canada. Neither bluetongue nor anaplasmosis pose any human health risk. Canada has liberalized its import requirements for U.S.

Vanclief said new scientific evidence emerging at the international level suggests that Canada can revise its requirements to further increase access for imported U.S. feeder cattle.

Vanclief said the CFIA and other federal departments including Health Canada, Parks Canada and Environment Canada will examine this issue in consultation with provincial and territorial authorities, stakeholder organizations, international animal disease experts and the USDA.