April 28, 2014
Canada tightens monitoring of bovine tuberculosis
The Canadian government is providing US$297,000 to Manitoba Beef Producers to improve tools used to monitor bovine tuberculosis (TB) in livestock in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area of the province.
Manitoba Beef Producers and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will work together to enhance scientific tools to detect and eliminate the spread of bovine TB. The project is meant to assure Canada's trading partners that the country is a leading producer of beef. The government also intends for other provinces to use the enhanced surveillance tools.
Heinz Reimer, president of Manitoba Beef Producers said: "The bovine tuberculosis issue has exacted a heavy economic toll on Manitoba's beef industry. We believe this project - with its focus on factors such as on-farm risk assessments and surveillance- is crucial to moving toward a time when testing is no longer required on live cattle and the disease is ultimately eradicated."