RED DEER – Canada’s chief veterinarian says a pilot project permitting
Montana cattle imports this summer should start without a hitch.
“I have every confidence that the program will go ahead,” said Brian
Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The program proposes Montana yearlings enter Alberta feedlots starting
April 1 until Sept. 30 without tests required for the blood diseases
bluetongue and anaplasmosis.
The program has been debated for more than a decade. While controversy
remains over health shields Canada has erected to protect against
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foreign animal diseases, Evans said progress has been made.
“We have made progress in terms of access for feeders. We have had more
than 120,000 animals come in since October, which wouldn’t have
happened five or six years ago,” he told the Alberta Cattle Feeders
Association annual meeting in Red Deer.
Regulations for the summer program are circulating and should be ready
by the first week of March to give cattle buyers time to establish
contracts and make sales.
“I know time is of the essence in some of these issues,” said Evans.
Strict rules governing tests for bluetongue and anaplasmosis remain as
the CFIA works to keep foreign animal diseases out despite economic
pressures to open the borders.
“We have to do it in a balanced way. Anaplasmosis may not be an issue
for a certain sector of our industry but it may be a big issue for
other sectors of our industry,” Evans said.
Alberta feedlot operator Rick Paskal of Picture Butte worries the CFIA
could stall the program.
Blood tests in the past raised some controversy over the sensitivity of
the procedures used to detect disease.
While bluetongue has been found occasionally in the Okanagan Valley and
anaplasmosis was detected in a Saskatchewan bison, Paskal argues both
are manageable diseases if they should ever be diagnosed in Alberta.
“We haven’t seen the thing and we haven’t had an outbreak,” Paskal said
in an interview.
For him, it is a matter of fair trade with the large American market.
Cattle producers worry that frustrated Americans could force a trade
investigation into the scientific methods Canada uses to block
year-round entry of cattle.
“There is a motion … from the Montana Stockgrowers to investigate us
for lack of science and our rationale for keeping these cattle out,”
Paskal said.
“We’ve got to figure this out and get this thing going and get the deal
done.”
However, offering freer access to Canadian feedlots might not quiet
Americans, who have complained since the North American Free Trade
Agreement was signed.
Disease may be only one barrier to trade.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Americans question whether
Canada is keeping pace with them in terms of animal health, biosecurity
and commitments to tightening border security.
Another issue is country-of-origin labelling requirements in the
proposed U.S. Farm Bill. While the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association suggested voluntary labelling, there are no guarantees
Congress will agree.
“We will not see even with the (feeder) protocol in place, any
political rhetoric dying in Washington about country-of-origin
labelling,” Evans said.
