Canada’s 14th case of BSE barely raised an eyebrow at home, but it did catch the attention of Mexican officials who banned cattle imports from Alberta.
Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said the Aug. 19 ban came out of the blue.
“There’s no one that really knows with absolute certainty what drove them to make that decision. What we need to find out as quickly as possible is what it will take to lift the suspension of Alberta-origin breeding stock,” said McNabb.
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The ban is on until Mexico investigates what Canada is doing to eliminate BSE from its cattle herd. The discovery of BSE in 2003 in an Alberta cow set off a series of trade bans around the world.
The World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, has deemed both Canada and Mexico “controlled risk” countries based on their prevention and detection measures for BSE.
Mexico reopened to live Canadian cattle imports in March. Since then, Canada has exported 6,400 cattle, mostly dairy animals from Ontario and Quebec to Mexico. Alberta has exported 220 head of bred beef cattle to Mexico since June. Mexico did not ban imports of Canadian beef, although it only
permits shipments of meat from animals younger than 30 months.
One of the biggest disappointments for Canadian cattle officials is the segregation of a single province. Canadian officials have rigorously opposed any regionalization of disease areas in the past because rules to prevent disease are nationwide.
Gary Smith, president of Alta Exports International, said the ban is an overreaction from Mexico, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency should not have allowed an Alberta-only ban.
“The issue has always been, we do not accept regionalization. We’ve lived through five years of hell on this and stood our ground. As an exporter, I find really confusing and unsettling that after five years of hell and two years of winning, it’s confusing why CFIA folded and Ag Canada folded,” said Smith.
Jeff Kucharski, chief executive officer of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, said the provincial government is also opposed to the decision by Mexico to single out Alberta.
