Canadian measures 🇨🇦

On Friday, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced an investment of up to $45.3 million to enhance efforts against the introduction and spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the country. The move, in collaboration with the pork industry, aims to enable producers to be ready for a timely and coordinated response.

• This funding is meant for priorities such as biosecurity assessments, coordination for wild pig management, retrofitting of existing abattoirs, sector analysis, and ASF-related research projects.
• A portion of that is intended to support work such as further enhancing laboratory capacity, establishing zoning arrangements with additional trading partners, and contributing to international efforts to develop a safe and effective ASF vaccine that meets the needs of Canadian farms.

Although Canada has never had a case of ASF, the disease continues to spread in several regions around the world and a single case of it within the country’s borders would result in their immediate closure to pork exports.

• Canada is recognized internationally for its strong programs against foreign animal diseases (FADs).