Reading Time: 2 minutes Livestock groups are hailing Ottawa’s pledge to set up a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank. “The Canadian beef industry breathed a collective sigh of relief to learn a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank is on the horizon,” Alberta Beef Producers said in a report on its website. Livestock organizations have been asking for a vaccine bank for […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth vaccine bank cheered by livestock groups
An outbreak would slam the border shut and vaccinations would be key in re-opening it
Bighorn deaths attributed to sheep contacts
Wild Sheep Foundation calls for domestic flocks to be tested and kept separate from wild population
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are calls for more separation between domestic and wild sheep following the death of several Bighorn rams in Bluerock Wildland Provincial Park and Sheep River Provincial Park. The animals were infected with Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movi), a disease common in the airways of domestic sheep and goats. The disease is bacterial and there is no vaccine for […] Read more
CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments
Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more
Opinion: Avian influenza is a threat that’s flying under the radar
The response has been strong, but this outbreak has caused massive losses and poses an ongoing threat
Reading Time: 3 minutes Avian flu deserves more media attention. The illness affecting our poultry sector has become a real problem. Unlike previous strains, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread across the country, raising fears that it could become endemic in wild birds, no less. A nightmare. This year alone, avian flu has infected approximately 200 farms with […] Read more
Avian flu cases drop in October
Reading Time: < 1 minute After soaring sharply in September, no commercial poultry operations in Alberta were hit by H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza during the first three weeks of October. As of Oct. 24, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website had only four incidents for the month. Three were for “non-poultry” and the lone poultry flock was a non-commercial […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth a ticking time bomb: Is Canada prepared?
Livestock groups want millions of vaccine doses to be stockpiled but say Ottawa is ‘stalling’
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa must stop ignoring requests to create a vaccine bank that could save the country’s livestock sector from a devastating a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, say provincial livestock leaders. The groups have been asking for a vaccine bank for years and in a recent letter, the chairs of Alberta’s cattle, cattle feeders, pork, sheep and goat […] Read more
Alberta bears brunt of avian influenza outbreak
Half of Canadian poultry losses have occurred here and officials fear the deadly virus will be a recurring threat
Reading Time: 3 minutes The most widespread avian influenza outbreak in Canadian history is still affecting Alberta. Three commercial poultry operations tested positive in late August and early September for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, bringing Alberta’s total to 35, according to an emergency task force set up by the province’s four poultry associations. More cases are expected this […] Read more
Federal funding lined up for programs, planning against swine fever
Two-year package to go toward pork industry work
The federal government is putting up an eight-figure funding wall to help prevent African swine fever from ever reaching Canada’s hog farms — and to prepare against any breach. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Aug. 26 the government will provide up to $45.3 million toward a three-pronged effort to boost disease prevention and preparedness: pork […] Read more
Leptospirosis and reproductive losses in beef cattle
While clinical cases are not common in Western Canada, detection of lepto titres in AI bulls can be a problem
Reading Time: 2 minutes Leptospirosis is rare in Western Canada. The three large pharma companies have leptospirosis vaccines, usually in combination with the standard five-way viral vaccines. They do not sell many doses, which indicates low frequency. In veterinary practice, we suspect it when we see bloody diarrhea or a high open rate or abortions. Leptospirosis titres are often […] Read more
Indonesia’s foot-and-mouth outbreak prompts international measures
'Viral fragments' detected in meats brought into Australia
Reuters — Australia and New Zealand say they’ve stepped up protections against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at their international airports following an outbreak of the disease in Indonesia. Travellers arriving in Australia from Indonesia will now be asked to walk across sanitation foot mats at airports, the latest measure to ramp up Australia’s biosecurity measures, the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
