#PremisesIDWeek aims to encourage producer participation
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Farms.com
From July 25 to 31, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are promoting the importance of livestock premises identification.
Through the hashtag #PremisesIDWeek, the agencies hope to encourage producers to use the identification system before it becomes mandatory, according to the Wednesday news release.
This movement stems from the CFIA’s idea to change the Health of Animals Regulation regarding livestock traceability.
In Canada, all sites where producers load or unload livestock from vehicles would be required to have premises identification numbers, if the changes are made to the regulation.
The use of valid premises identification numbers, according to the release, allows for:
- Rapid notification of critical information to registered livestock stakeholders
- Preparation, management and reduction in the impact of animal health and food safety issues
- Tracking and tracing of animals in the event of an emergency
- Ability to manage emergencies more efficiently to help sustain market access
Regulators hope that producers will see the many benefits of livestock premises identification through this promotion.
The Beef Farmers of Ontario released the following statement to Farms.com:
Livestock premises identification is a valuable tool and important to the beef sector and beef farmers. In the event of an animal disease outbreak or animal emergency, having accurate location information for livestock will allow government, industry and producers to control and manage unfortunate and devastating situations. Producers who have already obtained a premises ID will also be prepared for future federal traceability regulations, which will require all livestock producers to have a valid premises ID.
Stay updated by following the hashtag on Twitter.
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