Canada's BSE program has been updated to meet updated international standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The updated standards are driven by the dramatic decline in global prevalence and increased knowledge of the disease.
Changes to BSE program activities include:
- cattle that are sampled for BSE will only be recognized as surveillance candidates and no longer treated as suspects
- when disposing of a sampled carcass on farm, there will be no requirement to hold the carcass
In accordance with the WOAH standards based on global experience of not finding additional cases of BSE, cattle that were born at the same time as an infected bovine or received the same feed that an infected bovine received during the first year of its life will not be traced nor ordered destroyed. As long as necessary feed investigations are conducted and a satisfactory report is provided to WOAH in the required timeframe, Canada will not automatically lose its WOAH negligible risk status.
Learn more about the CFIA's updated BSE response plan.
What to do if you have a sick or dead bovine
Option 1: Call a veterinarian
If you have a sick bovine that you want assessed by a veterinarian or a dead bovine that you want a veterinarian to post-mortem, if that bovine that is over 30 months it could also be a BSE surveillance candidate. During their visit, the veterinarian may determine if the sick or dead bovine is a BSE surveillance candidate. If qualified, the veterinarian will receive a unique identifier (UID) and collect a BSE sample.
If the bovine is not a candidate or if the animal is not euthanized and sampled, the veterinarian cannot directly invoice the CFIA for their call fee / mileage which will be at the producer's expense.
After the veterinarian's assessment, you may dispose of the bovine on farm. There is no requirement to hold a carcass sampled for BSE surveillance if disposed of on farm.
Option 2: Without veterinary involvement
Upon euthanizing a sick bovine or discovering a previously observed sick bovine has died and you are either calling a deadstock collector or sending the bovine for post-mortem.
In these instances where no veterinarian is involved, use the online questionnaire to determine if your bovine is a BSE surveillance candidate in addition to whatever other disease it had. If your bovine is a candidate, the online tool will provide you with a UID.
Note: you cannot identify a bovine as a BSE surveillance candidate that will be disposed of on farm in absence of a veterinarian. You must be sending the bovine to deadstock or a pathology lab for post-mortem in order to use the online questionnaire to obtain a UID yourself.
Invoicing the CFIA
Sending for post-mortem: if you are sending the bovine for post-mortem, with or without veterinary involvement, where a sample for BSE testing will be collected, you can invoice us for the transport to the lab. The UID must be on the lab submission form. The cost of the post-mortem is not covered by the CFIA.
Requesting deadstock pick-up: if a veterinarian is not involved and you are requesting deadstock pick-up, collectors can invoice us directly. The UID must be provided to the deadstock collector.
To learn more about the updated program, visit the BSE Surveillance Program overview.