The traceability coordinator with Alberta Pork says, in light of the risks associated with the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, the province’s pork producers have been highly supportive of the mandatory reporting of swine movements within Canada. [Source: Farmscape for September 25, 2014]
Under new federal regulations, which took effect July 1, anyone in Canada who ships or receives hogs must report that movement within seven days to the PigTrace Canada database. Under provincial regulations in Alberta, an Alberta swine manifest must accompany every hog shipment and that manifest must be submitted within 48 hours to the Alberta traceability system and the data will be forwarded from the Alberta system to PigTrace Canada.
Christina Carley, the traceability coordinator with Alberta Pork, says producers have been very supportive of the changes.
Clip-Christina Carley-Alberta Pork: “The transition is going quite well as we’re starting to see a large number of farm to farm movements along with the farm to slaughter movements coming into the system. A key factor in seeing that change has definitely been the arrival of PED in Canada as it highlights the importance of traceability when it comes to disease mitigation not only from a standpoint of when or if this disease or any other disease comes in but as well as helping to prevent by recognizing any high risk areas. Information collected through the traceability system is collected for specific purposes and can only be accessed following strict protocols and procedures that have been put in place. In light of PED we’ve utilized the system’s information to identify high risk areas and to provide resources to those areas to ensure that if PED were to come around that disease is mitigated in terms of its spread. PED again has highlighted the importance of making sure that everyone participates in the system because as soon as any portion of the industry isn’t participating it can put the whole system at risk including all of the producers, transporters and processors.”
Carley stresses the importance of every participant in the hog industry doing their part to comply with the mandatory hog movement reporting requirements whether it be provincially or nationally.