Ottawa, ON—The Breeds & Industry Division of Equine Canada would like to inform all stakeholders of the Canadian horse industry that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has removed import restrictions on horses from Florida entering Canada that were put in place due to a 2008 outbreak of equine piroplasmosis in the state of Florida.

Current import requirements for horses entering Canada may be found using the CFIA Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) at http://airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca. To determine specific import requirements for each horse, specific parameters that refer to each horse’s circumstances will need to be entered and customized import requirements will be provided.

Canadian importers can also contact one of the following CFIA area offices to request up-to-date requirements for importing horses to Canada:

For the Atlantics

Dr. Allan McLean

Animal Health Staff Veterinarian

Atlantic Area

Telephone: (506) 851-7871

Fax: (506) 851-3700

Internet: mcleanaw@inspection.gc.ca

For Québec

Dr. Alain Lajoie

Program Specialist— Importation

Program Network—Quebec

Telephone: (514) 283-3815 (4210)

Fax: (514) 283-6214

Internet: lajoiea@inspection.gc.ca

For Ontario

Dr. Susan Wray

Program Specialist—Import

Program Network—Ontario

Telephone: (519) 826-2810

Fax: (519) 837-9771

Internet: wrays@inspection.gc.ca

For the West

Dr Gary Kruger

Veterinary Program Specialist

Program Network—West

Telephone: (403) 292-5825

Fax: (403) 292-6629

Internet: krugerg@inspection.gc.ca