September 24, 2010: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reminds cattle producers to continue to present eligible animals for testing under the national bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program.
The national BSE surveillance program is critical for maintaining domestic and international confidence in Canadian beef products. It continues to demonstrate the low level of BSE in Canada and our collective commitment to meeting international obligations. The program plays an important role in Canada's strategy to manage BSE and to assess the effectiveness of our control measures.
The CFIA is looking to test animals most at risk for the disease, which include
- cattle over the age of 30 months that are dead, down, dying or diseased
- cattle exhibiting clinical signs of BSE
Please contact the nearest CFIA office or a veterinarian to make arrangements for sampling. The CFIA provides financial support to offset the costs of veterinary examinations and carcass disposal (on-farm disposal or deadstock collection).
In Alberta, BSE surveillance is jointly managed by the Province of Alberta and the CFIA, and the program requirements are slightly different. For more information on the Canada-Alberta BSE Surveillance Program, including details on the eligibility criteria of the reimbursement program, contact the Province of Alberta.
Continued stewardship and vigilance from cattle producers is critical to the success of the BSE surveillance program, and ultimately to the control of the disease in Canada.
For more information on the national BSE surveillance program, call 1-800-442-2342 or visit www.inspection.gc.ca.
