Specified Risk Material Permits

A permit is required for transporting and disposing of certain cattle tissues capable of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as specified risk material (SRM). This allows the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to track and maintain continuous control over SRM, to ensure that it does not enter livestock feed, pet food or fertilizer.

Transportation

Transportation of SRM, including bovine deadstock from which SRM has not been removed, and SRM that has been subjected to intermediate processing (such as rendering or composting), is controlled through the issuance of permits from the CFIA. Permits will be issued annually for commercial operations that transport deadstock or SRM at a frequency of at least once per week. For operations that transport SRM on a less frequent basis, a permit may be issued and may be valid for a shorter period of time. To apply for an annual SRM transportation permit, contact the nearest CFIA district office.

If the situation is time-sensitive or occurs outside of normal business hours, call 1-866-788-8155 to request an emergency SRM permit. You will be directed to a CFIA inspector on-call, who will request the following information:

• the transporter's name, address, phone number, e-mail address;
• a description of the conveyance used to transport the SRM (license plate of truck or description of tarp/bucket);
• the SRM permit number of the site that will be receiving the SRM (unless it is the farm of origin of an animal dying in transit);
• the number of carcasses and approximate weight of SRM being transported; and
• Canadian Cattle Identification Agency or Agri-Traçabilité Québec" tag number(s).

At the conclusion of the call, the inspector will provide the number of a permit, which will be valid for 48 hours or less. An actual copy of the SRM permit will be provided during an ensuing inspection. This copy should be retained for record-keeping purposes.

Disposal

A CFIA permit is required to accept and dispose of:

• deadstock cattle containing SRM;
• meat and bone meal (MBM) made from deadstock cattle or SRM; and
• compost made from deadstock cattle or SRM.

Disposal must either destroy or permanently contain SRM. Proposed disposal procedures must be assessed by the CFIA to present, at most, only a very low risk of potential BSE transmission.

Permits will only be issued after a CFIA inspector has determined that all requirements have been met.

Waste management facilities must not accept cattle deadstock or SRM in any form from anyone not possessing a CFIA permit to transport SRM.

Policy on Permits for landfill sites receiving Specified Risk Material

Permit application form

To obtain a permit, fill out the permit application form and submit it to the nearest CFIA office.

• Permit application form (CFIA/ACIA 5405)