New Biosecurity Standard to Protect Canadian Horses

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Equine Canada and its equine sector organizations has developed a National Farm and Facility Level Biosecurity Standard for the Equine Sector.

This new guidance document can be used by horse owners and custodians as a cost effective way to limit the risk of a disease outbreak on farms and other facilities where horses may be kept.

Funding to develop this Standard has been provided under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Growing Forward 2 Agricultural Policy Framework. It can be adopted in its entirety or can supplement existing on-farm biosecurity programs as it provides:

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guidance on effective biosecurity practices to minimize the transmission of diseases;
ways to reduce the frequency, scope and impact of disease outbreaks; andmultiple methods to enhance horse health, welfare and productivity.

Through this partnership, we are currently developing a biosecurity guide that provides additional information on how to achieve the biosecurity goals outlined in the Standard. This guide will be available in late 2016.

Quick Facts

Canada already has national biosecurity standards for the avian, bee, cattle, dairy, goat, mink and sheep industries.
Horse owners and industry members across the country submitted suggestions and reviewed the draft National Biosecurity Standard before it was finalized.
To protect human and animal health, the CFIA conducts inspections and has monitoring and testing programs in place. The CFIA carries out programs related to animal health and production to guard against the entry of foreign animal diseases and to prevent the spread of certain domestic animal diseases