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Requirements for Camelids Imported From the United States to Canada

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TAHD-DSAT-IE-2012-5-2
June 8, 2018

Amendment: Genus Camelus imported for any other use than display in a zoo.

The terms of this document provide the import requirements for certain animals commonly described as camelids.

These requirements should be applied to the following:

Family Camelidae

Subfamily Camelinae

Please note that these requirements are applied to shipments containing one or multiple animals.

1. General requirements

1.1 All camelids require an Import Permit, issued by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) office prior to the arrival of the animal at a port of entry (paragraph 12[1][a] Health of Animals Regulations).

1.2 A camelid may only be imported into Canada from the United States if the animal is transported directly to the Canada-U.S. border from the place of origin in the U.S. where it was tested in accordance with the Import Permit conditions.

1.3 An animal that was born after its mother was tested is not required to meet the test requirements of this document, if imported into Canada at the same time as its mother. An animal that was born after its mother was tested, unless it was born en route to Canada, must be identified with permanent identification and recorded on the health certificate of its mother.

1.4 Camelids must be accompanied by a certificate from an official veterinarian of the U.S. or a certificate of a veterinarian licensed in the U.S. which is endorsed by an official veterinarian of the U.S. The certificate must contain the name and address of the consignor, the animals' export location, and the name and address of the consignee. The certificate must also clearly identify the animals, indicating that the animals were inspected by a veterinarian within the 10 days preceding the date of importation, that the animals were found to be free from any communicable disease, and that the animals were, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the veterinarian, not exposed to any communicable disease within the 60 days preceding the inspection date.

1.5 For animals imported for display in a zoo, the zoo must be a facility accredited by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), and the exporting zoo must be a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) (or be subject to case by case evaluation).

1.6 For genus Camelus (Dromedary and Bactrian camels) imported for any other use than display in a zoo the request for importation will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

2. Pre-export requirements

Note: The animals being presented for importation must not come into contact with any animals, products, or equipment of lesser or unknown health status during the period between the start of the required testing and export to Canada. In addition, no new animals shall be added to the group intended for export, unless these animals have sanitary guarantees similar to those of the rest of the group. This must include adequate separation from wildlife that may be a source of tuberculosis and brucellosis during the pre-export period.

Test and treatment requirements

2.1 Brucellosis

The animals must test negative for brucellosis, using the fluorescence polarization assay (FPA), or other test approved by the CFIAFootnote 1 for this purpose, on samples taken from the animals within 30 days of export. The test must be performed in a laboratory that is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to perform the test.

The results of the brucellosis test (including the type of test performed) must be shown on the required health certificate for the animal to be imported.

Any animal with a non-negative result is ineligible for export to Canada. It must be retested using iELISA, performed in a laboratory that is approved to perform the test by the official veterinary service of the country of export. If the result is negative, the remainder of the shipment will be eligible for export to Canada. If the result is positive, the animal must be removed from the group, and the remainder of the shipment retested for brucellosis, using FPA at least 42 days from the time the reactor animal was removed, with negative results. If further positive results are obtained, the entire group is ineligible for export to Canada.

2.2 Tuberculosis

Negative results must be obtained on two tuberculosis intradermal tests, using the post-axillary injection site, at least 90 days apart, with the second performed no more than 30 days prior to export.

Testing procedures must be administered by a veterinarian who is competent in the specified procedure in the exported species.

The tuberculosis intradermal test is conducted with a dose rate of 0.1 mL of Canadian bovine PPD tuberculin (or product of equivalent potency approved by the CFIA) injected at the post-axillary site. Identify the injection site with a permanent ink marker, and record the thickness of the skin with callipers. Measure the skin thickness 72 hours post-injection.

A reactor is any animal in which there is an increase of greater than 1.5 mm in the skin thickness at the injection site in response to the initial injection of tuberculin.

Any reactor animal to either of the intradermal tests should be removed from the group of animals intended for export, and the entire testing protocol should be started again for the remainder of the group. A minimum of 90 days is always required between any intradermal tests.

The results of all the tuberculin tests (including the dates of test readings) must be shown on the required health certificate for the animals to be imported.

Note: The testing requirements for tuberculosis may be subject to change as additional tests become available for use.

3. State and premises of origin and certification

The state of origin must be certified as follows:

Note: If this certification statement cannot be met, requests to import may be considered at the discretion of the CFIA on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the CFIA policy, Derogations to Import Permit Conditions (TAHD-DSAT-IE-2002-18).

The premises of origin must be certified as follows:

4. Animal certification

4.1 The animals for export must have been resident on the premises of origin for the three years preceding export; or

the animals for export must have been born on the premises of origin; or

the animals for export have resided on the premises of origin since legally imported from Canada; or

it must be documented that all animals in the herd of export, including animals for export, originated from a herd that meets the premises certification outlined above.

4.2 The animals for export and all other animals resident on the premises of origin must have been inspected by a veterinarian within the 10 days preceding the date of importation and found to be free from communicable disease. The animals to be exported were, to the best of the knowledge and belief of a veterinarian, not exposed to any communicable disease within the 60 days preceding the inspection date.

5. Animal identification

5.1 The animals being presented for importation must be identified by an acceptable electronic means.

The animals for import must be permanently and uniquely identified with electronic microchips in the country of origin. The accompanying export certification must correlate the unique identification number to a description detailing the animal's breed, colour, sex, age, and any identifying marks, as appropriate. The location of the microchip must be described. A reader capable of reading the chips must accompany the animals to the Canadian port of entry. Immature, unweaned animals travelling at the foot of their dam may be identified by external means that correlate with the dam. This identification must be recorded on the accompanying export health certificate.

6. Certification statements required to appear on the health (zoosanitary) certificate for the import of camelids from the United States

6.1 The animals are permanently and uniquely identified with electronic microchips and are not under restriction for movement, slaughter, or destruction control. The microchip numbers are included in the animal description.

6.2 The state of origin has not reported any case of tuberculosis in any captive hoofstock or wildlife during the three years prior to export.

6.3 The premises of origin has been in existence as an operation for the three years preceding the export of the animals.

6.4 During the preceding three years, there has been no clinical, serological, epidemiological, microbiological, or other evidence of brucellosis on the premises of origin.

6.5 During the preceding three years, there has been no clinical, serological, epidemiological, microbiological, or other evidence of tuberculosis on the premises of origin.

6.6 The exporting herd does not contain animals sourced from any herd in which tuberculosis has been diagnosed.

6.7 The animals for export have been resident on the premises of origin for the three years preceding export; or

the animals for export were born on the premises of origin; or

the animals for export have resided on the premises of origin since being legally imported from Canada; or

there is documentation to show that all animals in the herd of export, including animals for export, originated from a herd that meets the premises certification described above.

6.8 There has been no evidence of communicable disease on the premises of origin for at least 60 days prior to export.

6.9 The herd of origin has had an established relationship with a veterinary practice or practitioner for three or more years.

6.10 During the three years preceding importation, no contact has occurred with any tuberculosis-susceptible hoofstock from other herds of a lesser or unknown health status.

6.11 The animals for export have resided in the U.S. or Canada for at least 60 days immediately prior to export.

6.12 The animals were inspected by a veterinarian within the 10 days preceding the date of importation, the animals were found to be free from any communicable disease, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the animals listed on this certificate were not exposed to any communicable disease within the 60 days preceding the inspection date.

(The inspection date must appear on the certificate.)

6.13 The premises on which the animals reside has not been subject to any restriction or quarantine measure that pertains to animal diseases of concern for the importation of the species in question during the period of residency of the animals intended for export.

6.14 To the best of my knowledge and belief, the animals being presented for importation have not come into contact with any animals, products, or equipment of lesser or unknown health status during the period between the start of the required testing and export to Canada. No new animals have been added to the group intended for export, unless the new animals have the same sanitary guarantees, and there has been adequate separation from wildlife that may be a source of tuberculosis and brucellosis during the pre-export period. The exporter has been advised to maintain this status until the animals leave the U.S.

(The CFIA import permit number must also appear on the certificate.)

7. Post-import requirements

7.1 Border procedures

Documentation for importation must be presented to a CFIA veterinary inspector at the first point of entry. The shipment of animals must be presented to a CFIA veterinary inspector designated under the Health of Animals Act at the first point of entry. There must be prior arrangements made to ensure the provision of inspection at the appropriate time.

7.2 Post-import requirements

There are no post-import quarantine or testing requirements.

The importer must maintain records of the dispersal or sales of all imported animals for a minimum of three years.

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