Food Inspection

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Shannon Thurston of Staveley Farms in Saint-Anicet says she is concerned for the longevity of her Boer goat herd.

A change in regulation surrounding the importation of male breeding animals by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has left Canadian breeders unable to import new breeding genetics from the United States. The CFIA suspended Option 2C for importing bucks and rams in 2022, which eliminated two of three options available to Canadian breeders looking to introduce new genetics to their herds.

Thurston says this change could have a devastating impact on Canadian goat herds, including her own. She explains that if she cannot introduce diversified genetics into her herd within a short period, she could begin to see higher levels of inbreeding, deformation, difficult kidding, low immunity, lowered performance, and several other issues.

The CFIA implemented the change to protect against the spread of disease, including scrapie, a fatal prion disease that affects sheep and goats. Thurston insists, however, that there was no specific reason to suspend the policy, noting there have been no outbreaks linked to imported animals, and the science behind scrapie transmission has not changed.

To call attention to this issue, Thurston has launched a petition with the House of Commons in Ottawa to urge the CFIA to review its policy and its potential impact on goat farming across the country. Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille has sponsored the petition, which needs 500 signatures to move forward.

The petition calls on the CFIA to provide scientific evidence demonstrating an increased risk of scrapie transmission from imported male breeding animals to justify the removal of Option 2c.

Thurston is also requesting the government organization implement an industry-wide program for genetic-based scrapie resistance testing, and that the CFIA recognize scrapie-resistant genetics in goats.

“They have shut us right down and have not offered us any options,” says Thurston, who suggests that so little genetics have come into Canada for the Boer breed that it will soon be very problematic.

Thurston says she hopes people will support the petition. “Even in our own industry, it’s hard to make people understand the impact this will have,” she explains.

The petition can be accessed and signed online by searching for e-5199 (Animals) on the ourcommons.ca website.