Manitoba Pork is calling for an extension of a regulation designed to reduce the risk of spreading PED into Canada.
In 2014, in response to the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in the U.S. the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in consultation with Manitoba pork, introduced a regional regulation under which trailers returning from the U.S. would be sealed, tagged and allowed to cross the border to be washed in Manitoba.
Earlier this week CFIA notified transporters that regulations requiring empty swine transport vehicles to be washed and disinfected before re-entering Canada will be reinstated October 1.
George Matheson, the chair of Manitoba Pork, says tests showed U.S. wash facilities to be inferior to those in Manitoba.
The wash facilities in the states were not conveniently located and it was determined that they were full of disease themselves so we thought it best to avoid them. It’s a question of animal care.
We feel that our biosecurity procedures will be compromised and there’ll be a much greater chance of this disease coming into Canada and we have done such a fine job so far, as far as keeping it out.
It’s proven in the fact that only 4 farms were infected with PED in this province and we had pretty much been the gateway to the west and there are no infected farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta and we feel that that had a lot to do with the biosecurity measures that we took here in this province so, it was quite obvious that what we had been doing was very successful in terms of cleaning these trailers, biosecurity was kept in check and this has resulted in better animal care due to less disease.
Matheson is calling on pork producers to contact their members of parliament to apply pressure for an extensions of provisions allowing trucks to be washed in Canadian facilities.
