Farmscape for September 9, 2011   (Episode 3660)

PigTrace Canada hopes proposed federal legislative changes required to accommodate a new national swine traceability system will be ready for public comment by year's end.

The initiative to create a national swine traceability system was mandated in 2002 by the Canadian Pork Council to serve as an emergency response tool in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak, a feed contamination issue or other food safety issue.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is drafting changes to the federal health of animals regulation necessary to accommodate the mandatory reporting of animal movement.

Jeff Clark, the manager of PigTrace Canada an initiative of the Canadian Pork Council, says the legislation will apply to operators of any location where swine reside or are assembled including farms, assembly yards and packing plants and there are also requirements which will apply to commercial truckers.

Clip-Jeff Clark-Canadian Pork Council:
Currently the federal health of animals regulation covers cattle, sheep and bison I believe and primarily animal identification requirements.

Although the overall regulation applies to many species, most of the changes in the amendment will apply to swine so, rather than just really being an animal identification regulation, now the regulation is starting to incorporate movement reporting.

That would be specific to swine right now but eventually would apply to all livestock.

The time line seems to have slipped from period to period so we were looking to prior to the end of this year.

I haven't had any indication as of late when that might happen but the process would be publication in Canada Gazette 1 and it would be open to a public comment period after which we would have up to approximately a year to adjust and make any changes with the CFIA before publication in Canada Gazette 2 which would make it law but timelines are very difficult to predict and much too early at this point to wager a bet on dates.

For more on Canada's swine traceability system visit PigTrace.Ca.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council