Foreign Animal Disease Monitoring / National Hog Identification and Traceability
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Notice to Industry: Pig Identification Mandatory on July 1, 2014
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding stakeholders that the national pig traceability system came into force on July 1, 2014. All pig farmers and pig custodians (auction markets, transporters, breeders etc.) must properly identify, keep records and report the movement of pigs under their care or control from birth or import to slaughter or export. The wild boar industry will be subject to these requirements as of July 1, 2015. Anyone who fails to meet these requirements could be subject to enforcement action such as warnings, fines or prosecution.
Traceability measures such as record keeping and animal identification help the CFIA identify and locate animals throughout the supply chain from birth to slaughter. These are important for targeting specific animals in the event of an animal health emergency. It is estimated that an outbreak in Canada of a swine-related disease, such as Foot and Mouth disease, would cost an estimated $13 to 45 billion. Trade, welfare and processing implications would be enormous; border dependent industries would suffer staggering losses.
Producers who would like more information on pig and farmed wild boar identification and reporting requirements should contact PigTrace Canada, a Canadian Pork Council (CPC) initiative. The CPC will act as the administrator of the pig traceability system. The CFIA is responsible for enforcing the identification requirements.
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