Chapter 10 - Artificial insemination
10.1 Background information

This module describes background and procedures required to qualify a donor or teaser animal for entry into an artificial insemination (AI) centre.

Background information

The animal semen production centre is an establishment in which animal semen is collected and/or processed under the terms of a permit issued by the CFIA.

Legislation

The enabling legislation to draft regulations pertaining to the artificial insemination industry is contained in Section 64(q) of the Health of Animals Act. The regulations pertaining to the artificial insemination industry are contained in Sections 2, 69, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 160, and 161 of the Health of Animals Regulations.

On farm procedures to qualify a semen donor or a teaser animal for entry into an artificial insemination centre

All pre-entry qualifying procedures performed on the farm of origin are to be performed by an accredited veterinarian who has been authorized to conduct those specific procedures under the authority of an Accredited Veterinarian Agreement. The veterinarian should contact the respective district veterinarian for advice as to the submission of samples, the respective laboratory to be used, and the completion of laboratory forms. Blood samples must be sent to CFIA laboratories, unless otherwise specified.

Donor animals consigned to a recognized bull sale or exhibition may be tested on the farm of origin before the event. Following the sale or exhibition, the animal may enter the designated isolation facility of an approved semen production centre to commence health testing for entry into the resident herd of the centre. The centre assumes the risk associated with this procedure.

Note that the period of test validity is 60 days from the date of sample collection to enter an isolation facility, except for boars destined to an insemination centre approved for export of semen to the European Community (EC), where the period is only 30 days. In the case of tuberculosis, the date of test is the date on which the injection site is read.

The herd of origin must be inspected and found free from clinical evidence of infectious disease and, insofar as can be determined, from history of infectious diseases during the preceding 60 days.

The accredited veterinarian can perform the procedures in an isolation facility at a semen production centre for the following animals, if the relevant module have been reviewed, and the accredited veterinarian is authorized to perform on-farm testing for the same species:

• swine arriving in a production centre in which semen is for distribution in Canada,
• cervids,
• bison,
• sheep and goats when semen is collected in a sire reference program, and
• bovine. In this case, the accredited veterinarian must have been trained on site for campybacteriosis and trichomonosis sampling and processing, before he can be authorized to perform this duty.

In all other cases, qualifying and testing procedures associated with the assessment of the isolation and health status of semen donor and teaser animals, subsequent to their presentation to the pre-entry isolation facilities of the semen production centre, are to be performed by CFIA staff.

On farm isolation and identification

The donor animals or teasers should remain isolated at the premises of origin and must not be exposed to any infection to which they are susceptible from the date of pre-entry health testing until entry into the designated isolation facility of the centre. The on farm isolation requirement is applicable to all species, except for boars tested on farm for entry into semen production centres approved for distribution in Canada; they should not be exposed to any infection to which they are susceptible from the date of pre-entry health testing until entry into the designated isolation facility of the centre.

Animals must be clearly identified (Refer to 2.1 Identification of Livestock).

All donor animals presented as prospective additions to the isolation section of semen production centres must be examined, and any evidence of heritable physical defects should to be recorded on the health certificate 1634 Certificate of Health for Entry into a Semen Production Centre.

Certification following on farm procedures

If all requirements have been met, the 1634 certificate or its equivalent must be completed by the accredited veterinarian who performs the on-farm pre-entry inspection of the animal to certify the animal eligibility to enter in the isolation section of a semen production centre. The certificate is signed by the accredited veterinarian only. The certificate is valid for 60 days from the date of sample collection, except for boars destined to an insemination centre approved for semen export to the EC, in which case it is only valid for 30 days. The distribution of the 1634 is as follows:

• one copy of the certificate is retained by the accredited veterinarian;
• one copy is sent to the semen production centre for their records; and
• one copy is provided to the owner to accompany the animal to the semen production centre for entry into the isolation area at the Centre.

Note: Multiple donor boars from the same herd may be listed on the Form 1634.

Anyone collecting or processing bovine semen–whether operating from a mobile laboratory or a fixed centre–must be in possession of a "Permit to Operate a Semen Production Centre," or a "Permit to collect and process animal semen for owner use only", issued by the National Coordinator, Artificial Insemination, Terrestrial Animal Health Division, Ottawa. A mobile laboratory must be associated with a permanent facility in which the records referred to in Section 119 of the Health of Animals Regulations are maintained.

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