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ALL MANITOBA LIVESTOCK NOW FREE OF BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS

OTTAWA, September 19, 2006 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has declared livestock in the area around Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park free of bovine tuberculosis (TB). The region, referred to as the Riding Mountain TB Eradication Area, had been the only part of Canada without TB-free status.

The new designation is based on a sustained and aggressive surveillance program that has found no cases of bovine TB in livestock in the area since April 2003. The CFIA’s enhanced surveillance program began in 2002 and has closely monitored the health of all area cattle and farmed bison herds through approximately 142,000 TB tests.

Area producers are no longer required to obtain CFIA movement permits for cattle and farmed bison. This measure effectively contained the spread of the disease by ensuring that only animals from herds testing negative for bovine TB were allowed to leave the area.

The Parks Canada Agency and the Province of Manitoba have maintained efforts to address the bovine TB problem in wild elk and deer in and around the park since 2000. These initiatives limited opportunities for potential bovine TB transmission between wildlife and livestock, and played a significant role in restoring the area’s TB-free status as quickly as possible. In addition, the strong support and cooperation of livestock industry groups and individual producers in the area enhanced the CFIA’s bovine TB management activities.

Bovine TB is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act. The CFIA follows a strict surveillance and eradication program to detect and respond to bovine TB in cattle, farmed bison and farmed cervids. Whenever an infected herd is found, the CFIA institutes measures to contain and eradicate the outbreak. All infected animals and any exposed susceptible animals are immediately and humanely destroyed, and compensation is paid to the owners.

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For information:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Media Relations: (613) 228-6682

Parks Canada Agency
Media Relations: (204)848-7240

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