Canada: $76 m to combat disease in hog sector

The package, put together in consultation with an industry task team, is aimed at battling disease in Canada’s hog industry, specifically Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCVAD).

“It arose out of the Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases that have been common in the industry now for about two or three years and have been causing a lot of problems, a lot of economic loss, for farmers, particularly in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec but in other provinces as well,” said Bill Schissel, director of the Disaster

Programme Details Still Being Finalised
AAFC is working with the industry task team to finalise details of the $76 million package.



Schissel has said its intent is to help producers identify whether they have the disease and support them with vaccinating their herds so an inoculation strategy is part of it.

The longer term components include: Funding for research to find out how the disease is transmitted and the Canadian pig herd became infected; Developing biosecurity best practices with the intent of implementing national standards to combat diseases, both Circovirus and other emerging diseases; and Implementing a long term surveillance strategy to help identify emerging diseases.

“We’re hoping to be able to roll out the inoculation strategy over the next four to five months. And the longer term pieces, the research, the biosecurity best practices and the longer term surveillance strategy we hope to be able to put that in place over a four year time frame,” said Schissel.