Traceability Battle for Canadian Cattle

Traceability is the name of the game when it comes to animal health. But Canada has delayed its changes to beef traceability regulations after big pushback from cattle producers.

Rewind: Before the 2003 Mad Cow Crisis, Canadian cattle traceability efforts started to note where infected animals were from and where they went. At the national Cattle Traceability Summit in 2011, the Cattle Implementation Plan was created, then adopted and endorsed by 19 organizations in 2016.

Three years ago, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published proposed changes to traceability rules and  received nearly 1,300 comments. Part of these changes included premise identification numbers with the Canadian Livestock Tracking System. This would require ID tags to be purchased. 

Cattle movement and arrival would need to be reported within seven days. Livestock shipments would need license plate numbers and departure times. Group movement reporting would be allowed for some groups.

Producer response: Cattle farmers and ranchers are worried these new rules will increase their costs, up their reporting burdens, encroach on privacy, and ultimately change how ranching works.

Soundbite: “The real issue is that a premises ID is identifiable to the rancher, so we end up sharing and distributing a lot of personal information.” — Mark Olson, founder of Flokk Systems (a new handheld scanner traceability system)

Olson said the new GPS-based system he is working on focuses on animal location and not ownership information.

Where this goes: Proposed traceability changes are still on pause as the CFIA and producers work toward an agreement.