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Notice to Industry – Updates to the federal management of chronic wasting disease in farmed cervids

December 12, 2017 – Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is updating its national chronic wasting disease (CWD) program to better focus on disease prevention and risk management. A three-month extension to the implementation date has been granted to give producers, regional administrators and status assessors, provinces and territories more time to prepare for the upcoming change.

Disease management is a shared responsibility. Efforts to eradicate CWD in the farmed cervid population have not been successful. As a result, the CFIA's new approach aims to reduce the risk of the disease spreading by encouraging producers to adopt strong risk mitigation measures.

Enrolling in a Voluntary Herd Certification Program (VHCP) is important to help prevent the introduction of CWD to a farm. A VHCP requires enrolled producers to take measures to mitigate the risk of CWD, including ongoing surveillance testing of mature dead cervids and implementation of biosecurity measures.

A transition period is being provided throughout 2018 to give producers time to enroll in and complete 12 months in a VHCP.

CFIA's response includes movement controls, ordering destruction and disposal of infected herds, and providing compensation to producers.

More information about VHCP is available in the Accredited Veterinarian Manual, chapter 13.

To enroll in a VHCP, please contact the appropriate regional administrator in your region of Canada.

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