Animal Health Starts on the Farm

Outbreaks of animal diseases like foot-and-mouth disease can be devastating for Canadian farmers and animals, and our economy. How prepared is your farm?

Reduce the risk of transmitting domestic and foreign animal diseases by practising sound biosecurity on your farm. Putting preventive measures in place to keep animals healthy has been a long-standing and successful practice on Canadian farms.

Steps you can take to help protect your animals

Create or review a biosecurity plan for your farm

Start by creating or reviewing your own biosecurity plan. Talk to your veterinarian about biosecurity measures and how they can be applied to your farm. Keep your plan realistic and focus on the basics, such as managing

• operational conditions (such as building, equipment and vehicle cleaning);
• interactions between animals; and
• access to animals.

Observe your animals for signs of disease

You are in the best position to observe changes in appearance, behaviour and eating habits in your animals that could be indicators of illness.

Common signs of illness include

• loss of appetite
• weight loss
• abnormal behaviour
• decreases in production such as milk from cows or eggs from chickens
• unexplained death

Call your veterinarian if you think any of your animals might be sick

If you observe any signs of illness among your animals, contact a veterinarian or an animal health professional as soon as possible. It is always better to be cautious and catch a disease quickly before it can spread OR before it causes an outbreak. No matter how many animals you have, or the size of your farm, you play a major role in helping keep Canada’s animals healthy and economy strong.