Risks to Canada

The risk is real

Every traveller entering Canada has a key role to play in protecting Canada's animals, plants and natural habitats.

Undeclared food, animals, plants and related products brought into Canada by travellers are potential problems. Everything from sausages, potatoes and fruit to homemade articles, live birds and plant cuttings from a family garden can introduce foreign threats into Canada. Food can carry animal diseases or plant viruses. Plants and related products can carry insects, harmful microorganisms, viruses, fungi and bacteria. Animals and related products can carry animal diseases, such as avian influenza.

Even a single incident can pose a serious risk to our plant and animal health, which can in turn endanger our food supply, agriculture, economy, environment - and even human health and wellbeing.

A case in point: Foot and Mouth Disease - brought to Canada in a sausage

Foot and Mouth Disease is a disease affecting animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs. The disease spreads rapidly and easily, causing major losses in infected herds. An outbreak of this disease in Saskatchewan, in 1952, is believed to have been caused by a small amount of infected sausage meat imported from Europe, which was fed to swine by a farm worker. Fortunately, the outbreak was not extensive and was quickly eradicated. However, eradication costs approached one billion dollars at the time ($30 billion in 1995 dollars) and many farm families lost their herds and livelihoods as a result.

Small pests with big impacts

Many foreign species of plants and animals have been introduced into Canada and are now major pests to humans, agriculture and the environment. Some of the best known include the Black Garden Slug, the European Starling, Japanese Beetles, Gypsy Moths and Dutch Elm Disease. One thing these species all have in common is that they have been introduced accidentally and are multiplying in the Canadian environment. They have become major pests that cost our agricultural industry and economy millions of dollars annually and cause harm to our environment.

Combating the risk

The risk posed by undeclared food, plants and animals is very real. They threaten our food supply. They threaten Canada's agriculture industry and economy. They threaten our environment and natural resources. They threaten us, our friends and neighbours, and our loved ones. They can cost us money, productivity, health and even, in extreme cases, lives.

By knowing the risks and taking the appropriate actions, each and every traveller entering the country can help protect Canada, and Canadians. You can do your part. The next time you travel, be aware and declare!