Canada: pig farmers receive aid for vaccinations
The Canadian government announced yesterday that CAD$25m (US$25.4m) will be put aside in a special Circovirus Inoculation Program (CIP) for pig owners and herd managers.
Under the new program, an application for funds can be made for those pig owners or farm managers whose animals were part of a herd in the period March 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008 in order to cover the costs of diagnostic testing.
Porcine circovirus
Should any animal test positive for any porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD2), the producer will be entitled to reimbursement of the vaccination costs.
In addition, 50% of expenses for testing will be covered by the programme involving amounts of: CAD$150 (US$152) per test. Maximum assistance for testing and vaccination is $500,000 (US$508,000) per applicant. Canadian pig farmers identified on government and industry lists will be forwarded application forms. The deadline for applications for funding is December 31, 2008.
PCVAD2 covers a number of diseases related to the pork circovirus 2 such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) . New outbreaks of the diseases attributed to PCVAD2 have been noted in Western Canada.
Clare Schlegel, president of the Canadian Pork Council, commented that the economic impacts of the outbreaks have been “severe”. This CIP funding program represents the first phase in a four-year funding commitment of CAD$76m (US$77m) to combat disease and enable the pig sector to prosper.
Related websites:
• Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
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