EID Readers

[kato]

I'd like to hear some opinions on what the difference would be if, for for instance, an animal tested positive for fmd at an Alberta plant.

Immediately all cattle transport and sale would stop. Just as on May 20, 2003. The country would be cut in half at the Ontario Manitoba border. This plan is already in place. All the animals at any given auction mart or feedlot would be considered as having been exposed. The auction mart cattle would be in trouble, because they wouldn't be allowed to move anywhere. The cattle on farms would not be allowed to be sold until massive testing had taken place. The borders would be closed.

How would rfid tags affect any of these measures? I'd really like to know. As far as I can tell, everyone would be shut down no matter if they had anything sold from their farms in the recent past or not, simply due to the traffic between farms and the highly contagious nature of the disease. Having your cattle tagged wouldn't make any difference since there would be nowhere for them to go anyway.

Tracing all the auction and feedlot rfid tagged cattle back to their farms of origin wouldn't help anyone else sell their cattle, because all cattle would be considered suspect. It's not like export customers are going to say "I'll let your cattle come here because you had them tagged and they weren't involved." Not going to happen. Even the cattle on the east side of the country would have the same restrictions placed on them.

Tags or no tags, it's all on hold for everyone until all cattle are tested and cleared. Even if the source was found sooner rather than later.

[grassfarmer]

F and M is different to say TB in cattle - you don't
have the luxury of time on your side to test and
decide what to do next. To limit the damage you
need to find where it is, isolate it and either
slaughter or vaccinate to eradicate it. Diagnosis is
largely made on inspection - animals that are clear
one day can be showing symptoms 3 days later. It's
a raging infection that spreads like wildfire. As soon
as you find a case there are many more through
previous contacts hence the need to know who has
been where, through which auctions, which trucks
were used etc.
You don't have the luxury like they did with the first
BSE case in 03 to spend weeks sifting through
manifests and brand inspections and only finding
half animals in the finish up. That is a disaster
waiting to happen.
Animal health officials, local vets etc would be
quickly overrun in the face of a large outbreak just
doing trace backs and diagnosis. Call in the army to
assist the kill squads if you go that route. A massive
cull brings media pressures and public outcry - you
think XL was a media issue? wait until you have a
million cattle to kill for F and M.
Exports stop until a period of time after the last
case has elapsed although I believe the zoning has
been set up so that east could still export if the
cases were in the west - I assume that will be
honoured internationally. There will be a welfare
issue as cattle back up on ranches, feedlots or in
auctions with no way to move them and extra feed
being moved to alleviate this brings added risk of
moving the disease around.
Tags don't prevent F and M but tags used to their
full potential in a complete tracking system might
make the difference between stamping out the
disease outbreak at the 50,000 head versus
500,000 or more mark.

The 2001 outbreak in the UK is said to have cost 10
million animals their lives. I think we have a duty to
be better prepared than they were, not less
prepared like we are now.

[15444]

GF, your a smart fella. You should know by now that F&M is complete BS. It doesn't affect humans and animals can recover from it.

Absolutely no need to euthanize animals who contract the disease. A PR nightmare that is completely avoidable.

I realize the Brits didn't have anything to in their possession to stop their government from walking all over them on F&M. And maybe that's the way you guys like it.

Over here, it would be a different story. At least for the ones who care.

[grassfarmer]

So what is your solution? let it run rampant through
the entire countries livestock population and keep us
locked out of export markets for years? That would
be financial suicide.
You won't get a choice on this - it will be the beloved
CFIA running the show. I suppose you could organise
a red neck type militia to meet the officials at the
farm gate with weapons but from what I've seen it's
impossible to organise a group of more than about 6
ranchers to work together on anything.

[kato]

I would put zero faith in the splitting of the country saving anyone regarding exports. Maybe with a different disease, but not with this one.

What's more likely to happen is that the U.S. will be considered contaminated as well. Even if we stopped the border instantly, there are Canadian cattle in the U.S., and even though they are supposed to be accounted for, I can't see anyone allowing for "slippage". Besides, there is meat crossing the border, farmers crossing the border, and groceries crossing the border. It's just too big.

What is more likely to happen is that fmd vaccine will become the norm, and with enough pressure from our neighbours, which we all know they are not afraid to use, fmd will no longer be the boogie man of the livestock disease world, and will become a non-issue.

Based on past experience here, as soon something is causing a problem with the American's ability to make money, it is suddenly not an important thing. Remember how BSE was the end of the world when we had it, and suddenly it was not one when it was found in the U.S.? TB has caused lots of hardship in Manitoba regarding exports, but it's not that big of a deal in states where it's common.

[SADIE]

Right on Kato

I will email my brother who works for Novartis and now lives and is retiring in Colorado area. Both he and his wife are/were veterinarians who practiced in the Provost clinic till 1994. They both got jobs and traveled the world with Merial and now Novartis living in Georgia, South Dakota and now Colorado area.

He has been in charge of regulatory affairs on vaccine protocal and many times has been all over the world with their company a major manufactorer of those types of vaccines like FMD.

I will email and have a phone call conversation or face to face within the 6 months at a family planned gathering to catch up on his world.

[grassfarmer]

The zoning arrangement will apply to F&M as the
agreement is currently written - that is what both
parties are signing up to. You think the US will
consider themselves contaminated if we get cases in
western Canada? The BSE experience would indicate
otherwise.
The vaccine route is not as simple as it sounds. It's
not like starting to vaccinate everything with an 8-
way. The outbreak has to happen first, then you try
work out which of the 7 strains it is, then produce the
vaccine in the volume you need and then get it to the
animals needing it. It seems to mutate as well which
further complicates things. Politically it doesn't help
you much as exports would still be banned.

Here is a thought on us being in together on this with
the Americans. Remember the beef production/usage
in the two countries - the US could very easily close
it's borders and instead of exporting consume the
product at home. That would be an easy choice for
them in the case of an f&m outbreak which they could
treat with vaccine. We are dependant on exports so
we are so much more vunerable to trade
disputes/border closures etc.

[kato]

Of course the U.S. won't consider itself contaminated. Everyone else in the world will though.

As for the U.S. living up to the dividing the country thing? I have about as much faith in their intention to honour any agreement as I do that they really give a rats $%$^ about anyone else. We only have to look as far as NAFTA to see how the U.S. lives up to it's agreements. That piece of paper will be tossed in the garbage instantly. If we've learned anything from BSE, it's to know just how faithful and trustworthy our neighbours are.

[DogPatch]

Right you are GF, The EID's are suppose to help track down the Ground Zero herd, or atleast the 1st affected area. Lets hope that we never have to really test it in a real life situation. I have heard though that simulations have helped to improve things.

Those that have been dragged to court were like asking for trouble, what does it hurt to work with the system, rather than fighting it?

[Happytrails]

Good Dog. Roll over.

[SADIE]

Those that have been dragged to court were like asking for trouble, what does it hurt to work with the system, rather than fighting it?

Good Doggy---If that statement refers to my case of going to a Tribunal I want to clarify that I was the one that forced the CFIA into the Courtroom and other cattlemen that took the same avenue did the same.

When a system does not listen to CS---Common sense, than that is grounds to go to a hearing and bring out the proper evidence so that changes can be made.

Again if you are not familiar with "hearings" that take place when it is time for Closing arguments in a case like this that is when comments can be made for submitting corrections on what could be done to make the system better.

Some of those recommendations are now being commented in SEAN's post on this thread earlier.

[15444]

The obedient dogs are the easiest to put down because they don't run away or attack you.