The West Hawk Lake livestock check point is closing for good due to lack of funding.
The checkpoint was temporarily closed earlier this year. It is located on the Trans-Canada highway on the Manitoba-Ontario border and collected data on livestock moving across the country. This site was the only road linking the eastern and western parts of Canada.
Zone Canada opened the site in 2006 with support from government, livestock groups and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to verify the movement of animals from one side of the country to the other.
From April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2013 staff verified more than 11,000 crossings. Last year, more than 4,000 loads of mostly beef cattle checked in, said a release from the Canadian Animal Health Coalition.
A proposal is being prepared to have the coalition test the use of traceability software to identify zone movements for disease management. Identifying animal movement is necessary for faster traceback in the event of a disease outbreak and to designate which livestock are in a disease free zone.
