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Vol. 140, No. 14 — July 12, 2006
Registration
SOR/2006-168 June 27, 2006
HEALTH OF ANIMALS ACT
Certain Ruminants and Their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations, No. 2
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, pursuant to section 14 of the Health of Animals Act (see footnote a), hereby make the annexed Certain Ruminants and Their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations, No. 2.
Ottawa, June 27, 2006
Chuck Strahl
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
| definitions | CERTAIN RUMINANTS AND THEIR PRODUCTS IMPORTATION PROHIBITION REGULATIONS, NO. 2 |
|---|---|
| INTERPRETATION | |
| Definitions | 1. (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations. |
| "Bovinae specified risk material" « matériel à risque spécifié de boviné » |
"Bovinae specified risk material" means |
| (a) the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of animals of the sub-family Bovinae aged 30 months or older; and | |
| (b) the distal ileum and tonsils of animals of the sub-family Bovinae of all ages. | |
| "BSE slaughter process" « processus d'abattage approprié pour l'ESB » |
"BSE slaughter process" means any process for slaughtering an animal other than a process in which the animal is subjected, before being slaughtered, to |
| (a) a stunning process in which a device is used to inject compressed air or gas into the animal's cranial cavity; or | |
| (b) a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity. | |
| "feeder goats" « chèvre d'engrais » |
"feeder goats" means any neutered male goats imported into Canada for the purpose of feeding and subsequent slaughter, but does not include any neutered male goats that are to be moved to a rodeo or show. |
| "feeder sheep" « mouton d'engrais » |
"feeder sheep" means any neutered male sheep imported into Canada for the purpose of feeding and subsequent slaughter, but does not include any neutered male sheep that are to be moved to a rodeo or show. |
| "meat product" « produit de viande » |
"meat product" has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Meat Inspection Act. |
| Other words and expressions | (2) Words and expressions used in these Regulations and not defined in the Health of Animals Act or these Regulations have the same meaning as in section 2 of the Health of Animals Regulations. |
| PROHIBITION | |
| Prohibition on importation | 2. (1) No person may import into Canada from the United States, during the period beginning on the day on which these Regulations come into force and ending on January 30, 2008, any of the following animals or things: |
| (a) animals of the sub-family Bovinae born before January 1, 1999; | |
| (b) animals of the species Capra hircus or Ovis aries; | |
| (c) meat products derived from animals of the sub-family Bovinae if the animals were slaughtered by a process other than a BSE slaughter process or the Bovinae specified risk material was not removed from the carcasses of the animals, and things containing those meat products; | |
| (d) meat products derived from animals of the species Capra hircus or Ovis aries aged 12 months or older, and things containing those meat products; | |
| (e) ingredients derived from ruminants to be used in animal food, and animal food containing those ingredients; | |
| (f) ingredients, other than manure, derived from ruminants to be used in fertilizer, and fertilizer containing those ingredients; and | |
| (g) Bovinae specified risk material and things containing or derived from Bovinae specified risk material. | |
| Exceptions | (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to |
| (a) animals of the species Capra hircus or Ovis aries under 12 months of age, or cattle, that are imported for immediate slaughter and that are subject to the requirements of section 5 of Part III of the import reference document as defined in section 10 of the Health of Animals Regulations; | |
| (b) animals, and things derived from them, that are imported for medical use, scientific research or zoological collections; | |
| (c) animals that are imported into Canada for a maximum of 30 days; | |
| (d) bucks, bulls and rams that are destined for animal semen production centres; | |
| (e) a feeder goat or feeder sheep that is under 12 months of age and that is subject to the requirements of section 19 of Part III of the import reference document as defined in section 10 of the Health of Animals Regulations; | |
| (f) an animal or thing in respect of which paragraph 51(b) of the Health of Animals Regulations applies that is imported into Canada under a permit issued under section 160 of those Regulations; | |
| (g) products of a rendering plant imported into Canada under a permit issued under section 160 of the Health of Animals Regulations; | |
| (h) meat products that originated in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand or Uruguay and that were processed in the United States; | |
| (i) meat products that originated in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand or Uruguay and that are in transit through the United States; | |
| (j) meat products to be transported to a community in the United States if the only practical transportation route for the meat products is either a land or a water route through Canada, taking into account the location of the community and the time required to transport them; | |
| (k) meat products to be transported non-stop in Canada and to be delivered to a cruise ship for use as ships' stores; | |
| (l) meat products that are kept on a ship as ships' stores; | |
| (m) a food containing a meat product that is of insignificant quantity having regard to the nature of the food and the nature of the meat product in the food; | |
| (n) meat products to be used for personal consumption if the total weight of the meat products is 5 kg or less; | |
| (o) milk or milk derivatives; | |
| (p) a hide or skin to be used as raw material for manufacturing products for human consumption if the hide or skin does not come from the head of an animal; | |
| (q) hides or skins that are not for human consumption and derivatives of those hides or skins; | |
| (r) wool or derivatives of wool; | |
| (s) things that are produced by subjecting bones and tissues, other than Bovinae specified risk material, to rigorous processes of extraction and purification; | |
| (t) finished pet chews, such as dried processed ears, pizzles, hooves or tendons, that do not contain, and are not derived from, Bovinae specified risk material; | |
| (u) finished pet chews, such as dried processed ears, pizzles, hooves or tendons, that do not contain, and are not derived from, any part of the vertebral column of animals of the sub-family Bovinae other than the vertebrae of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum; | |
| (v) commercially prepared pet food that does not contain ingredients derived from animals of the sub-family Bovinae; | |
| (w) commercially prepared pet food that contains ingredients derived from animals of the sub-family Bovinae if | |
(i) the ingredients are not derived from Bovinae specified
risk material, or (ii) the animals from which the ingredients are derived originated in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand or Uruguay; |
|
| (x) protein-free tallow with a maximum level of insoluble impurities of 0.15% by weight, or derivatives made from it; | |
| (y) tallow derived from the carcasses of animals of the sub-family Bovinae if the animals were slaughtered by a BSE slaughter process and the Bovinae specified risk material was removed from the carcasses, or derivatives of the tallow; | |
| (z) dicalcium phosphate derived from the carcasses of animals of the sub-family Bovinae if the animals were slaughtered by a BSE slaughter process and the Bovinae specified risk material was removed from the carcasses; | |
| (z.1) household garbage from the United States containing protein from an animal; | |
| (z.2) aircraft garbage or ship's refuse, as defined in subsection 47.1(1) of the Health of Animals Regulations; or | |
| (z.3) animal food to be fed to sled dogs participating in an official competition taking place north of the 60th parallel. | |
| REPEAL | |
| Repeal | 3. The Certain Ruminants and Their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations (see footnote 1) are repealed. |
| COMING INTO FORCE | |
| Coming into force | 4. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered. |
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)
Description
The purposes of the Health of Animals Act (the "Act") and the Health of Animals Regulations (the "Regulations") are, in part, to prevent the introduction of animal diseases into Canada, to prevent the spread within Canada of diseases of animals that either affect human health or could have a significant economic effect on the Canadian livestock industry, and to provide for the humane treatment of animals during transport.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow disease", is a progressive, fatal neurological disease in cattle. It is part of a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) which also includes scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Research into BSE is ongoing, but this disease has been associated with the presence of an abnormal prion protein and, to date, there is no effective treatment or vaccine.
On December 23, 2003, the United States (US) Department of Agriculture reported the discovery of a potential case of a dairy cow infected with BSE in Washington State. Subsequent testing confirmed the initial finding. While this cow was traced back to Canada, the US has since confirmed native cases in Texas and Alabama.
The Act(section 14) grants the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food authority to make regulations prohibiting the importation into Canada of an animal or any other thing from any place for such period as the Minister considers necessary for the purpose of preventing a disease from being introduced into or spread within Canada.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) implemented, under this authority, a broad prohibition on the importation into Canada on US animals and their products based upon the belief that the discovery of a US-based case of BSE presented public and animal health threats to Canada. This prohibition was reflected in the Animals of the Family Bovidae and their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations on January 21, 2004, and then, in response to the continuing evolution of the situation, modified by the Animals of the Family Bovidae and their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations, No. 2 on April 23, 2004 and the Certain Ruminants and Their Products Import Prohibition Regulations on March 29, 2005.
Previous Prohibition Regulations
The previous importation prohibition regulations represented a partial prohibition on the importation of animals and their products from the US, as these animals and their products may carry an unacceptable risk of carrying BSE. These Regulations prohibited importation of:
(i) live animals of the sub-family Bovinae, which includes cattle and bison, as well as goats and sheep;
(ii) meat or meat products from the animals of the sub-family Bovinae as well from goats and sheep, and things containing such meat or meat products;
(iii) animal food containing ingredients derived from ruminants;
(iv) fertilizer, excluding manure, containing ingredients from ruminants;
(v) specified risk material.
Examples of exempted animals and products included goats and sheep under 12 months of age for immediate slaughter, cattle for immediate slaughter, feeder calves (bob calves), animals for temporary stay in Canada (less than 30 days), bulls destined for semen productions centres, zoo and research animals, meat of animals of the sub-family Bovinae under 30 months of age from which the specific risk materials (SRM) has been removed, as well as meat from sheep and goats under 12 months of age. Commercial petfood containing ingredients derived from animals of the sub-family Bovinae provided that the petfood is derived from animals from which the specified risk material has been removed, or is derived from animals from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand or Uruguay, and meat products destined for cruise ships temporarily docked in Canada were also exempted from the prohibition.
New Prohibition Regulations
Since the prohibition regulations had to be reviewed prior to their expiry date, the prohibitions were looked at with a view to achieving greater consistency with standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health and to reflect changes in the CFIA's risk-management approach to BSE. The revised prohibition regulations would alter the prohibitions in several ways.
Only those cattle born before January 1, 1999, will remain prohibited. This will allow a broader range of live animals, including breeding cattle, to enter Canada. This acknowledges that although the US introduced a ruminant feeding ban in August 1997, for the purposes of these Prohibition Regulations,this ban would not be considered fully implemented and enforced until January 1, 1999.
As the removal of SRM from the food supply is now viewed as the single most effective measure to protect public health, emphasis is now placed on removal of SRM and methods of slaughter that do not create a risk for cross contamination of tissues. Meat from animals of the sub-family Bovinae that have not been subject to a BSE slaughter process and from which the Bovinae specified risk material has not been removed are prohibited.
A number of additional exemptions for specific animals and animal products have been added and some are carried over from the previous prohibition regulations because they are regulated by means such as the requirement for an import permit or a certification or because they are considered a low risk.
Although the situation has evolved to the point where the prohibitions can be relaxed somewhat, it is important that certain import controls on animals and products imported from the US (such as sheep and goats pending consultation on a new import policy for those animals) remain in place because of the ongoing risk factors identified during the consultation and publication of Canada's BSE import policy. It is, therefore, proposed to extend the duration of the importation prohibition regulations, but to narrow the prohibitions where it has been determined that the risk of BSE to Canada would be minimal.
Alternatives
Status Quo
Not enacting the amendment to the importation prohibition regulations is unacceptable as the current regulations will expire on June 30, 2006, and importation prohibitions are necessary to maintain protection against the importation of animals and their products which constitute a significant risk of BSE.
Enact Prohibition Regulations (preferred option)
By prohibiting the importation of animals and other things as set out in the regulations, the CFIA will continue to protect Canadian livestock and consumers against exposure to BSE in a manner that is not unnecessarily restrictive. The regulations will introduce exemptions for animals and products for which the risk does not justify an ongoing prohibition against importation.
Amendment of the prohibition regulations is an interim measure until such time as Governor in Council amendments to the Regulations can be completed (anticipated later this year) to fully reflect and implement the revised BSE import policy for all countries, at which time the Certain Ruminants and Their Products Importation Prohibition Regulations, No. 2 will be repealed.
Benefits and Costs
Benefits
Implementation of these Regulations assists in the prevention of additional cases of BSE in Canada and minimizes the risk of the transmission of BSE to the human food supply.
Furthermore the implementation of science-based regulations commensurate with international standards will increase both domestic and international confidence in the integrity of the Canadian system.
Costs
For the most part, these Regulations will not affect current costs to industry given that an import prohibition is already in effect.
Consultation
Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade have been kept apprised of CFIA actions. Affected stakeholders have continued to express their views on the prohibition and the evolving situation to the CFIA. Stakeholders and Government are supportive of normalizing trade between Canada and the US while maintaining effective controls on BSE risk materials in keeping with international standards.
Compliance and Enforcement
Section 16 of the Act requires anyone importing any animal or thing into Canada to present the animal to an inspector, officer or officer of the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Section 65 of the Act, S.C. 1990, c. 21 establishes offences for refusing or neglecting to perform any duty imposed by or under the Act or its regulations.
Contact
Dr. Francine Lord
Animal Health and Production Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 221-4624
FAX: (613) 228-6143
E-mail: flord@inspection.gc.ca
S.C. 1990, c. 21
SOR/2005-78
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