OTTAWA – A discussion of bluetongue and anaplasmosis by 50 cattle
disease experts and industry officials June 20-21 emerged with a plan
that might lead to year-round imports of feeder cattle from northern
U.S. states.
The two diseases are at the heart of animal health concerns and trade
tensions between Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Animal Health Coalition will now establish two groups –
one comprising cattle producers, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
officials and other key players, and another broader group that will
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The groups will devise proposals to change regulations and allow feeder
cattle to enter Canada year-round, as long as they come from northern
states considered low risk for the two diseases.
“Nobody wants to expose our industry to unnecessary risk,” Arno
Doerksen of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association told the special
summit on animal diseases.
“But I really think this is a matter of balancing risk. I think that
our fears, our concerns, our worries can be eliminated by good
information.”
Risk of disease is the official reason U.S. feeder imports have so far
been restricted to the October to April period, when ticks that carry
bluetongue and anaplasmosis cannot survive. Both are blood-borne
diseases that can only affect ruminants.
The CCA has been pushing for year-round access with no requirement for
extra testing. It proposes that animals be given shots of tetracycline
at the border as a precaution.
The CCA sees year-round U.S. access as a way to ease trade tensions and
maintain the lucrative American market for Canadian cattle and beef.
But CFIA rejected the proposal this spring, citing concerns over
potential for microbial resistance and protection of Canada’s herd
health status.
Another proposal has been submitted since, which the agency is now
reviewing, said CFIA official Brian Jamieson. He said the agency will
likely ask the CCA for revisions.
“Our role is to facilitate trade providing it can be done safely,” he
told the group.
In two days of talk on the two diseases, participants heard about the
prevalence and transmission of bluetongue and anaplasmosis, how each is
diagnosed and treated. Risk management, antimicrobial resistance,
economics and study results were also discussed.
Consultant Norm Willis summarized the meeting this way: “The
application of the mitigating factors, while not absolute, seem to me
to be a reasonable approach to minimize risk to an acceptable level.”
