Matt Bowman, Co-Chair of the Canadian Cattle Association's (CCA) Animal Health and Care Committee and Dr. Leigh Rosengren, CCA's Chief Veterinary Officer, participated the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) meeting concerning their study on biosecurity and emergency preparedness on June 5, 2023. CCA used the opportunity to focus on a few key priorities on the subject matter being studied.
First, CCA emphasized the importance of improved preparedness for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) given the detrimental effects it could have on the Canadian beef industry, noting the importance of the vaccine bank that was announced in Budget 2023. In addition to FMD preparedness, CCA emphasized the unintended consequences of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) transportation regulations and the biosecurity risk that are being created. During the question and answer period, CCA was able to go deeper into animal health standards on beef cattle operations, speak to the Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and their impacts on animal health, and discuss the upcoming traceability regulations. Listen to Matt Bowman's opening remarks to the AGRI Committee members:
You can watch the entire appearance here.
CCA has also developed biosecurity advice for producers who are travelling internationally or welcoming international visitors. Click here to learn more.