Cervid Industry Traceability Initiative (CITI)

The CITI is an initiative undertaken by the Canadian Cervid Alliance to assess the current needs of the farmed cervid industry for Traceability tools and systems, to assess the capabilities of current systems in meeting those needs, and to develop a National Strategy and an Action Plan for improving those tools and systems as needed.

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What is Traceability and what does it mean for the Canadian Farmed Cervid Industry?

Traceability of Livestock and Animal Products in Canada

Traceability is not new to Canadian agriculture. Tags, tattoos, brands and paper-based logbooks are all elements of traceability that have been employed for many years by both industry and government. Traditionally, traceability systems have been developed on a sector-by-sector basis.

There are three main pillars to traceability systems: the identification of animals or products, the ability to follow their movement, and the identification of departure and destination premises. Many industry sectors in Canada have solid traceability systems that have proven to be useful in emergency management

Animal identification

Regulated animal identification programs currently exist for the beef cattle, dairy cattle, bison, cervids (elk and deer) and sheep sectors. The Canadian Animal Health Program for Farmed Cervids was introduced in 1990, and requires all farmed or otherwise captive cervids to be inventoried, identified and tested for specific diseases at specific time intervals, currently every five years. The Canadian Cattle Identification Program (CCIP) was introduced in 2001 through an amendment to the Health of Animals Regulations and is applicable to all cattle and bison. The Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) followed in 2004. These programs are mandatory in all provinces.

Under the CCIP and the CSIP, all bovine, bison and ovine animals must bear a registered ID tag before they leave their farm of origin. Information on cattle, bison and sheep from most provinces is stored in a central database maintained by the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA). The exception is the province of Quebec, where this information is stored in a database maintained by Agri-Traçabilité Québec (ATQ). For farmed cervids, data is stored in the ATQ database for Quebec producers, in Provincial Government systems in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC and Yukon, and in CFIA District offices all across Canada.

In the event of a disease outbreak or food safety emergency, the origins of tagged animals involved can be accessed by the CFIA.

Animal movement

Farmed cervids may be moved from farm to farm or to another location only after issuance of a Cervid Movement Permit by the CFIA. The import and export of cattle, bison and sheep must be reported to a traceability database.

Premises identification

In order for traceability investigations to be more geographically accurate, provincial governments have been given the lead to identify agriculture and food premises. This supports efforts made by the Canadian agriculture sector.

Enforcement

The CFIA enforces cattle, bison, cervid and sheep identification and movement reporting requirements. Violations of the requirements may result in warning letters, fines, or prosecutions under the Health of Animals Act.