OKOTOKS, Alta. – Some long-sought-after changes to Alberta’s brand inspection services should be in place next spring.
The provincial government is conducting a legislative review of Livestock Inspection Services, or LIS, which would have been completed sooner if not for delays caused by the provincial election.
The updated Livestock Commerce Act combines three livestock inspection acts and 15 sets of regulations into one law. The Stray Animals Act will remain independent and is also under review.
“There’ll be significant changes but I think there’ll be changes that the industry has wanted for a long time,” LIS chief executive officer Dave Moss said during a beef producers meeting in Okotoks.
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The legislation will be released for public comment in December and January with a slot in the spring sitting.
Another change for the service is a decision to once again allow the registration of arbitrary brands only if they have been registered in the past and only to the locations on the animal that are presently permitted.
Arbitrary brands are pictures or symbols that could not be encoded in LIS’s computer system for recognition, such as a walking M, maple leaf or boot.
The past year has been challenging for the service. Revenues are down because of fewer inspections and BSE kept many cattle out of the marketing system. The agency inspected 3.3 million cattle in 2003, down from 4.9 million head in 2002. The 2004 figures are expected to be the same as 2003.
The LIS also inspects elk, deer and horses.
