More trade restrictions for Ontario's poultry industry anticipated

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Ontario’s poultry industry could face more temporary trade restrictions as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday it planned to immediately advise the World Organization for Animal Health the deadly H5N2 avian influenza strain has been confirmed in the province.

Paul Mayers, CFIA vice president for policy and programs, said during a telephone technical briefing Wednesday 14 international jurisdictions have now imposed temporary trade restrictions on Canadian poultry products since the avian influenza outbreak first appeared in British Columbia late last year.

Four of those jurisdictions moved ahead with restrictions following the discovery of bird flu on a Woodstock area turkey farm last weekend.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong issued a temporary ban on poultry and poultry products from Oxford County. Uruguay banned hatching eggs from Canada.

Earlier this week, Japan and Taiwan also announced trade restrictions on Ontario poultry and poultry products.

Ontario poultry, poultry product and egg exports totaled $212 million in 2014, Ontario’s agriculture ministry spokesman Bryan Bossin said by email. Poultry exports represent 1.7 per cent of Ontario’s total agri-food exports.

The majority of the dollar value of the exports is in fresh, chilled or frozen meat ($92 million), hatching eggs ($42 million) and live birds ($37.9 million).

The top five destinations for Ontario’s exports were: the United States ($115 million), Hong Kong ($9.2 million), Taiwan ($8.3 million), Russia ($7.5 million) and Gabon ($6.5 million), he said.

The World Organization for Animal Health is the Paris-based intergovernmental organization responsible for global animal health improvements. Member countries report animal diseases detected in their territories to ensure transparency in the global animal disease situation, the organization’s website said. The organization informs other countries, which can then take necessary preventative actions.

The H5N2 avian influenza strain CFIA confirmed on the Woodstock-area commercial turkey operation is same subtype that hit British Columbian farmers’ poultry in December and the same one circulating in the United States during the past few months.

“H5N2 is a subtype that is known to affect wild and domestic birds,” Mayers said, adding the finding is not surprising because avian influenza can be spread through migratory birds.

But the source of the infection in Ontario hasn’t been determined yet, he said.

The virus can also be transmitted by live bird or material movement between facilities or movement of material between a wild bird area and a farm. Mayers used the example of a pond frequented by wild birds and wild bird excrement ending up on boots and being transmitted into a barn.

Avian influenza doesn’t pose a food safety risk when poultry and poultry products are properly handled and cooked, he said. The virus rarely affects humans that don’t have prolonged contact with infected birds.

The agency has also placed another Ontario farm under quarantine Wednesday bringing the total number of farms under quarantine to nine. The newest quarantined farm had high-risk contact with the index farm, which is the original Woodstock-area farm confirmed to have the virus.

The other farms under quarantine are within a five-kilometre radius of the index farm.

Symptoms of the virus have not been found on any of the quarantined farms other than the index farm.

Mayers said more farms may be placed under quarantine in the coming days, as avian influenza is highly contagious and can spread rapidly. Poultry farmers are encouraged to report any suspicious symptoms in their birds to the CFIA and be extra vigilant in their biosecurity measures.

The agency will supervise the euthanizing of all 34,000 turkeys remaining alive in various barns on the index farm. So far, 7,500 birds have died from the virus in one barn containing 12,000 turkeys.

The farmer will be compensated for the birds ordered destroyed, CFIA said.

CFIA’s website says the maximum compensation for turkeys for meat production is $70 per bird.

Government officials have not released details about the identity of the farm’s owner other than it is an individual.

Turkey Farmers of Ontario senior field inspector Greg Morrison said during a telephone interview Thursday the farmer is doing “the best he can under the circumstances.”

Morrison said he couldn’t answer any other questions about the situation. BF