The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it could take several months to track and test cattle herds that were quarantined in southern Alberta after a case of the contagious bacterial disease was discovered in September in a cow that came from the region.
The cow was shipped from a ranch near Jenner to the United States for slaughter and the disease was detected by Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
30 ranches were quarantined after the discovery and restrictions were placed on cattle movement for the affected farms.
The CFIA says more ranches could be locked down as investigators conduct more on-farm tests and work to trace the movement of animals that may have been exposed over the last five years
“As the disease investigation proceeds, additional premises may need to be quarantined while cattle are tested for bovine TB. We recognize that the quarantines and movement controls are having a significant impact on producers, especially those that planned on fall sales of their animals. The CFIA is bringing in additional staff to Alberta from other regions to help with on-farm testing and agency labs are prepared for the increased number of samples,” said Dr. Harpreet Kochhar, Chief Veterinary Officer for Canada, in a statement posted on the CFIA website.
Kevin Stopanski and his family have about 160 cow-calf pairs on their farm and he says he is trying to keep his animals as healthy as possible until they can be tested.
“We’re not sure yet of when my animals can be tested so right now I’m trying to manage the best I can to keep my cattle healthy, I can’t market calves, so we’re trying to managed things as best we can to accommodate CFIA,” said Stopanski. “There is no compensation for that either. I have to keep my calves as healthy as possible until they can be tested to be sort of taken off the quarantine list.”
He says CFIA officials marked his land and he is controlling access to do his part to make sure the disease doesn’t spread but that a lengthy investigation will hurt cattle ranchers in the area.
“We have to work together and make sure this gets resolved as quickly as possible cause timing is an issue, especially at this time of year. We’re trying to market and there’s a lot of money that’s been held up because we can’t market our cattle so everybody’s working together. I think we’re talking to bankers, we’re talking to accountants, we’re trying to make things operational and trying to make it as easy as possible for us,” he said.
The CFIA says testing, humane destruction and disposal will be carried out as required and that it will compensate producers as quickly as possible for any animals that are destroyed.
For the latest updates on Bovine TB, visit the CFIA website HERE.
