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Notice to all producers and transporters of animals,

Under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) Health of Animals Regulations (Part XII), Canada’s livestock industry will see changes to its Transportation of Animals requirements. The new requirements will be phased in beginning February 20, 2020.

The new regulations are more detailed with respect to animal needs and specify intervals for transporters to provide food, water and rest. OSF is sharing the most recent communications materials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for information purposes and including links to online resources available at this time. 

All persons involved in the Transporting of Animals must comply with the new regulations.   

Summary
 

1. The HAR Part XII applies on-farm, even before the transport begins.
 

2. Unfit animals can only be transported under the recommendation of a veterinarian and with the aim of receiving veterinary care.

3. Compromised animals must be transported to the nearest place where they can receive care or be humanely killed (cannot go through the auction market) and the maximum interval without FWR is 12 hrs.

4. Outcome-based requirements provide more protection for the vulnerable animals that are not considered as being unfit or compromised.

5. Lambs <8 days cannot go to an auction mart, can be transported one time only, for a max of 12 hours and the max interval without FWR is 12 hours.

6. Lambs > 8 days of age but not weaned can be transported for a max of 12 hours and the max interval without FWR is 12 hours (can go through an auction market).

7. Cull ewes have to be assessed carefully before transport and the driver must be informed of all pertinent pre-existing conditions.

8. Lactating ewes in peak lactation are unfit for transport. If in normal lactation, the ewe has to be milked adequately to prevent mammary engorgement.

Additional Resources 

• A PDF copy of the information below click here 
• A copy of the "Now Vs Then" CFIA document click here 
• Direct link to Humane Transport and Animal Welfare website click here
• A Copy of CFIA Sheep Webinar with OSF - January 2020 click here 
• Checklist for Animal Transportation click here 
• The Interpretive guidance Health of Animals Regulations Part XII: Transportation of Animals will be updated to address the questions CFIA receives in order to help the third parties in interpreting the HAR Part XII. 
• National Farm Animal Care Council - Sheep Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Sheep click here 

Have a question? CFIA is here to assist! Please send any questions to the Animal Transport email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alberta lamb producer chairs the newly formed National Sheep Network

Demand for lamb continues to grow — and the sheep sector continues to struggle to meet it.

In fact, if more fresh Canadian lamb was available, demand would be growing even faster, says the managing director of the North American Lamb Company, the biggest player in the sector.

“With a bit of marketing and new products, we could expand the Canadian consumption quite a bit,” said Gary Alexander. “It’s just a scarce product on our shelves that people don’t even think about buying it. There could be quite a large surge in demand if we could market it as a consumer product.” The company was formed in 2018 through the merger of Alberta’s SunGold Specialty Meats (and its lamb feedlot near Iron Springs) and Manitoba-based Canada Sheep and Lamb Farms, a subsidiary of a New Zealand lamb producer and processor.

Read the full article

As a group of three Olds College Students completing their Applied Degree in Agribusiness, they're required to conduct a research project. The students have chosen to gather information from sheep producers to begin to implement a benchmarking system. Western Canadian lamb producers have experienced inconsistencies in the quality and management of their flocks in recent years. Some believe this could be due to missing information on average performance benchmarks. Unlike cattle, there has yet to be a program where sheep producers are able to compare the success of their flock to others. Beef producers have resources such as the Gold indicator, or the Western Canada Cow/Calf Survey where they are able to compare their data to those of successful herds in the past, and make changes to increase profitability. This research project will use benchmarking categories similar to the Gold indicator to implement a system for sheep.

They would appreciate your participation in their short survey. Complete the survey here.
 
Kate Eisenhawer, Shandra Moxham, Laura Scott would like to thank you all in advance for your participation. 

Canadian Sheep Identification Program Fees Increasing Today
Ottawa, ON (February 3, 2020) – Effective today, Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) approved Shearwell tags are subject to program fee increases originally noted in the January 4, 2019, press release.

Read the full press release 

NSN Notice to Producers: Update on the New Transport Regulations - Starting February 2020

Update on the New Transport Regulations - Starting February 2020The humane transport regulations will come into force in February 2020.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will implement a transition period for the feed, water and rest requirements for bovine and other sectors. During the first two years, the CFIA will focus its enforcement efforts on compliance promotion through education and awareness measures, which are part of the CFIA’s continuum of enforcement actions.

The amended regulations contain outcome-based requirements to ensure that animals are not likely to suffer (from exhaustion, dehydration, weather or other conditions), be injured or die. The CFIA has the discretion to appropriately enforce these outcome-based requirements to prevent and act on animal welfare situations.The amended regulations contain outcome-based requirements to ensure that animals are not likely to suffer (from exhaustion, dehydration, weather or other conditions), be injured or die. The CFIA has the discretion to appropriately enforce these outcome-based requirements to prevent and act on animal welfare situations.The NSN will continue to work with the CFIA for clarification on the regulation and implementation plan and will communicate with producers as we learn more.

Read the full article

~ 5th Annual Sheep Shearing Course ~
March 6 & 7, 2020 ~ 8 AM – 5 PM each day

Click here for more information!

The Government of Alberta is introducing new legislation that will impact Alberta producers. Bill 26 also known as the Farm Freedom and Safety Act (FFSA) changes current employment, workers compensation coverage, and occupational health and safety requirements for producers.  The following guide will serve as an overview of how these changes will impact you.

Read the article

Elections for the ALP executive and committee positions were held on November 22, 2019 during the first in-person Board meeting following the 2019 AGM.   Elections results were:

Chair: Ryan Greir
Vice-Chair: Brittany Walker
Finance Chair: Karl Denwood
Finance Vice-Chair:  Scott Vuylsteke

Ryan Greir, Brittany Walker and Darlene Stein will be representing ALP on the National Sheep Network (NSN). 

The Global Analysis group at AAFC, just released and shared a market overview on Canadian lamb and sheep meat and product trends with ALP.

Market snapshot
In 2018, Canada's top five international markets for trade of lamb or sheep related products including meat, live sheep, sheep or lamb skins and wool were the United States (US), China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Canadian exports of lamb/sheep products to the world totalled Can$7.0 million in 2018. Wool represented 46.5% (Can$3.2 million) of the total export market share, followed by sheep and lamb meat exports at 34.0% (Can$2.4 million), sheep and lamb skins at 13.7% (Can$953,068), and live sheep stood at 5.8% (Can$402,917).

To read the full article. click this link: Market Overview: Canadian lamb and sheep meat and product trends 

October 24, 2019 (Alliston, ON) – The National Sheep Network elected a new chair and vice chair at a recent meeting in Ontario. Ryan Greir, from Alberta, will lead the organization in the year ahead as chair with Pierre Lessard from Quebec serving as vice chair. Greir is currently the vice-chair of Alberta Lamb Producers, and farms just east of Strathmore with his wife Janna and son.

“It’s an exciting time to step into the chair position for the National Sheep Network” said Grier, “having finalized a memorandum of understanding with a clear mandate to provide an effective national voice for the business of sheep farming.”

Read the full News Release here