Notice to industry: Amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations – Hatcheries and supply flocks

November 9, 2022

Amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations (HAR) relating to hatcheries and supply flocks have been published in the Canada Gazette, Part II and will come into effect in 1 year. This one-year transition will allow industry to prepare for the amended regulations before they start being enforced.

The amendments will modernize the hatchery-related regulations by:

• combining all hatchery-related regulations into one under the HAR Part Vlll.1
• requiring the development and implementation by the regulated party of a preventive control plan (PCP) which would describe operational hazards and how to mitigate these risks
• widening the scope of diseases to cover zoonotic and emerging diseases
• requiring hatcheries to obtain their eggs from supply flocks that test for bacteria (such as Salmonella) to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses

These regulatory changes will help the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and industry prevent and control diseases and human illnesses and increase food safety.