Manitoba cattle producers remain hopeful that most of the province can
regain its tuberculosis-free status by the end of the year.
Based on Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards, the province lost
its status because of an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in a cattle
herd near Riding Mountain National Park in April 2001. Cattle producers
became aware of the status change this spring.
The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association is working with Manitoba
Agriculture and the CFIA to zone an area around the park. The zoning,
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which could be in place this fall, could allow the rest of the province
to be designated tuberculosis-free, at least within the agency’s
standards.
The zoned area would take in a number of municipalities around the
park. Cattle producers within the zone would have to test and keep
records on livestock, particularly breeding stock, being shipped out of
their area.
Changes are being made to the regulations for tuberculosis control in
Canada and the United States, so it’s difficult to say when the
restrictions on the zoned area would be removed, said Betty Green,
vice-president of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association.
However, she said there is a possibility the zoned area could regain
TB-free status some time next year, depending on the regulations in
place by then.
“We want to make sure the time frame for them is as short as possible.”
But a lot also hinges on the United States Department of Agriculture
and how it views Manitoba’s tuberculosis status.
The USDA now regards all of Canada as tuberculosis free, including
Manitoba.
However, American concerns about the disease are mounting because of TB
outbreaks in Texas and Michigan and the disease also has been found in
a dairy herd in California.
As the USDA clamps down on bovine tuberculosis in those states, there
will be political pressure to be at least as tough with Canada, said
Allan Preston, Manitoba Agriculture director of veterinary services.
Preston said the USDA could make a decision later this summer to change
the status of Manitoba regarding tuberculosis. Officials in Canada can
only speculate on what that outcome will be.
If the USDA downgrades Manitoba’s TB status, breeding stock going from
the province to the U.S. would have to be tested, Preston said. He is
hoping the Americans will give some advance notice of their intentions.
“We’re hoping for some degree of leniency from the U.S.”
Manitoba’s cattle producers support efforts to eradicate the disease
from all species in the province.
However, Green said it would be “a stretch” to suggest all producers
around Riding Mountain have warmed to the idea of being in a zoned
area. Some producers feel they are being shouldered with a burden that
arose through no fault of their own.
Green, who chairs her group’s animal health committee, said the
association is negotiating to limit the cost and inconvenience that
zoning could cause affected producers.
Wild elk around Riding Mountain are recognized as a source of TB
infection. Manitoba cattle producers are working with Parks Canada and
Manitoba Conservation on strategies to keep the elk separate from
cattle herds.
The provincial cattle producers also want the size of the elk herd
reduced, so overcrowding within the park does not force the elk onto
surrounding farmland where they might mingle with cattle.
Green said there has been confusion on the tuberculosis issue, partly
because Canada and the U.S. have different standards for assigning TB
status.
The CFIA has proposed changes to the levels of status assigned in
Canada so they become comparable to those in the U.S.
