Canada - FMD - History repeats itself

Pat's Note: When I first came into serious contact with Canada, I was
deeply surprised by just how "British" Canada remains.

It is not a diluted version of the US. It has s a distinctive culture
much closer, in my eyes, to Britain than the US.

It comes as no surprise that they are making exactly the same mistakes
in the same way.

Here, we have the Canadian version of Defra having a pop at the
Canadian Version of HMC&E over imaginary bush meat risks.

The Canadian version of HMC&E won't reply. Standard stuff for customs
bodies.

Echoes of Britain's veterinary disasters abound. Their vets are in a
fright over the pig disease mutated PMWS and also MRSA in pigs and
pork and seek to shift the blame.

They will no doubt finish up with fat labradors patrolling their
airports to cover up for veterinary panics.

They talk about smuggled food bringing FMD, they should be more
concerned with live FMD virus being brought in from Britain by their
veterinarians.

Did it happen? Oh Yes!

Try http://www.go-self-sufficient.com/stopworldmain.htm
scroll down. The original Canadian report is unavailable as you can
see.

Canadians should realise that last year's British Foot and Mouth
outbreak came from a "totally secure" government laboratory at
Pirbight.

If any Canadians need more information, feel free to get in touch.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080901.DISEASE01/TPStory/National

INFECTIOUS DISEASES: BORDER SCREENING

Poor training raises outbreak risk, agency says

CFIA warns of potentially 'devastating' economic effects if dangerous
goods allowed to enter Canada in travellers' luggage
CARLY WEEKS

September 1, 2008

Canadian border guards may lack the necessary training to keep
dangerous goods out of Canada that may be carrying mad cow,
foot-and-mouth disease, and even avian flu, leading to potential
outbreaks that could damage the country's tourism and agricultural
industries.

An internal risk assessment conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency also warns that border officials are too busy to properly
screen international travellers entering the country for food, animal
and plant materials that could contain pathogens that may infect
Canada's animal population.

It's a significant issue that could have serious consequences for the
agriculture industry and lead to problems that would have a ripple
effect, as was demonstrated in the mad-cow crisis of 2003 or the
outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain in 2001.

"Economically, the impact of a disease outbreak can be huge," said Ann
Allain, senior staff veterinarian in the animal health and production
division of the CFIA's imports department. "It can be devastating."

The CFIA used to be responsible for screening international travellers
entering Canada who may be carrying risky material, but that authority
was transferred to Canada Border Services Agency several years ago.
Border guards are supposed to be on the lookout for any foreign food,
plants, animals or related products that international travellers may
bring into the country.

Although travellers are supposed to declare any foreign materials so
officials can determine if they represent a potential risk, there are
many cases where people try to bring in goods undetected.

A Richmond, B.C., woman was fined $10,000 earlier this month after
border officials detected 70 undeclared live Shanghai hairy crabs in
her luggage. The crabs are invasive and can destroy ecosystems and
drive out native species. Earlier this year, a traveller was fined
$500 after a sniffer dog detected undeclared duck, pork and deer meat
in his luggage.

Although officials caught those goods before they made it into the
country, the government document, obtained under the Access to
Information Act by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin, casts doubt on whether
border officials are given adequate time and resources to do the job
properly.

The document warns that the responsibility for safeguarding against
dangerous materials "is considerably diluted within other
responsibilities of the [Canada Border Services Agency]."

"Concerns are also raised that insufficient staff and training is
allocated to animal health controls at the border," says the report,
which was prepared last fall.

The report also questions whether the border agency is fulfilling its
responsibility to ensure international garbage coming into Canada is
handled properly to avoid a disease outbreak.

Under federal rules, international waste that comes into Canada from
ships and airplanes must be incinerated, buried, or otherwise safely
disposed of to keep animals from being exposed to the materials in
landfills and catching an infectious disease. Border officials are
supposed to ensure international waste is transported safely to avoid
the possibility of an outbreak, but the document suggests that may not
be happening since the border agency assumed that responsibility from
the CFIA.

"Rules are in place to make sure that international waste is
transported in a safe manner, but it is not clear how effectively
these are being enforced," the document states.

"From our observations, it seems that a minimal supervision by CBSA is
being applied on this aspect of international waste disposal."

CBSA spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said the agency is not willing to
comment on a report prepared by another department, but that it takes
the responsibility for screening for risky material very seriously.

"We would like to highlight that CBSA officers thoroughly screen all
travellers and goods coming into Canada and examine more closely those
that may pose a threat, including a risk to our food, plants and
animals," Ms. LeBlanc wrote in an e-mail.

"The agency has developed sophisticated automated risk-assessment
systems to screen all incoming shipments, including food, plant and
animal commodities."

--
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/
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