VSFCP National Standards (Revised June 2017)

National Standards Index

2. Administration

2.1 Enrolment Procedure

The flock owner contacts the local CFIA district veterinarian to determine the organizations responsible for the VSFCP in the region in which the flock/herd is located.

The owner contacts the VSFCP regional administrator and requests an application package.

The owner may only join one pathway to certification at a time. Specifically, any flock/herd and all the individual animals within the flock/herd can only be registered in one pathway to certification at a time.

An application package is completed and submitted to the organization responsible for status assessment. The applicant must indicate which Program Specific Pathway to Certification will be pursued. The application must be accompanied by the following:

  • a site plan of all buildings and grazing premises to which the animals are given access;
  • the initial flock/herd inventory prepared by the accredited veterinarian within the three-month period immediately prior to submission of the application;* and
  • a record-keeping plan (objective: records must be reviewed completely and effectively at each annual inspection).

*Except for when an owner joins under the temporary enrolment option, which exists for owners who do not have any sheep or goats on their property, and are confirmed to be eligible to import by the CFIA, and will be importing sheep or goats from the U.S. to start their flock/herd. The owner must complete a full initial animal inventory, conducted by their VSFCP accredited veterinarian, and submit it within 30 days of importing (along with any other remaining paperwork required by the regional administrator/status assessor).

Accelerated admission to more advanced levels of the VSFCP may be possible for flocks/herds which have met all program requirements for a number of years prior to application.

A currently enrolled owner who wishes to change pathways would be required to start at entry level on the new pathway, or if all program requirements for the new pathway have been met, credit may be given for the number of consecutive years of compliance that were completed prior to application to the new pathway. Entry at an advanced level may therefore be possible.

A flock/herd that has been subject to the CFIA Scrapie Disease Control Program may be admitted to the certification program at the level at which it meets the certification program requirements.

Owners who will be starting a new flock/herd with acquired animals of status D or higher and who intend to keep that status will need to follow all regular application form protocols as above, but in addition, provide a letter (written by the owner) stating that the premises where the flock will reside meets one of the following conditions:

  • the premises has not contained small ruminants for the last 10 years; or
  • it is unknown whether the premises contained small ruminants in the last 10 years; or
  • the premises has contained small ruminants in the last 10 years.
Sheep

Scrapie Information & Facts

LABRATORIES COMPLETING OBEX
TESTING FOR THE PREVALENCE STUDY

Prior to shipping any samples, be sure to read all information concerning packing and shipping samples.

PRAIRIE DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES Inc.

52 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK, CANADA, S7N 5B4
PHONE: 306-966-7316

ALBERTA AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEPT

Agri-Food Laboratories Branch
TSE Laboratory
6909 – 116th Street
Edmonton, AB Canada, T6H 4P2
Phone: 780-422-4830
Facsimile: 780-415-4527

 

ANIMAL HEALTH LABRATORY

Laboratory Services, a division of
the University of Guelph
Building 49, OVC, Box 3612,
Guelph, ON, Canada, N1H 6R8
Phone: 519-824-4120 X: 54544
Fax: 519-821-8072

MANITOBA AGRICULTURE
FOOD AND RURAL INITIATIVES

Veterinary Services Branch
Veterinary Diagnostic Services
545 University Crescent
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 5S6
Telephone: 204-945-8220

In cases where owners will be starting a new flock/herd with acquired animals of status D or higher and they intend to keep that status on a premises that, within the last 10 years, has previously contained (or it is unknown whether it has previously contained) small ruminants, all regular application form protocols as above will need to be followed, and the owner will agree to follow the approved cleaning and disinfection protocol for the VSFCP under the supervision of their accredited veterinarian prior to stocking any animals on the property. To retain the higher status, it will be necessary for the accredited veterinarian to certify to the administrator that the cleaning and disinfection has been done in a satisfactory manner prior to stocking the animals on the premises.

Flock/herd owners successfully enrolling in the VSFCP and quitting the VSFCP within the same 24-month period will not be permitted to re-enrol in the VSFCP for a period of three years from their date of departure from the program (subject to appeal).

In addition, flock/herd owners who obtain temporary enrolment and do not complete the requirements for full enrolment in the VSFCP will not be permitted to re-enrol in the VSFCP for a period of three years from their date of acceptance for temporary enrolment (subject to appeal).

2.2 Advancement and Downgrading

An owner may apply to have the certification status of the flock/herd upgraded if the following conditions are met:

  • the premises is not currently subject to CFIA actions related to the scrapie program; and
  • the flock/herd has met the minimum requirements applicable to its current certification level.

To upgrade the certification status of the flock/herd, the owner must submit a request along with the annual report that would make them eligible for advancement to the status assessor for review and approval. The request must be completed and signed by the owner and the accredited veterinarian on record.

The status assessor reviews the annual report and approves advancement, or identifies deficiencies that prevent advancement.

When deficiencies are identified, the status assessor may require that the current level be maintained until the deficiencies are addressed, or that the status of the flock/herd be downgraded or suspended. The decision is documented to the program participant and copied to the accredited veterinarian and the regional administrator.

Owners successfully participating in the VSFCP (at level E or above) who have purchased one or more females from a non-enrolled or level E flock/herd, resulting in downgrading to status E (or penalty to remain at level E), will not be permitted to introduce additional females from non-enrolled or level E flocks/herds for a period of three years from the date of their previous introduction or downgrading within the program (subject to appeal).

Regardless of the certification pathway that is pursued, once a flock/herd has attained the certified level, annual application for renewal of this level is required. The owner must submit a request to maintain the status of certified, along with the annual report that documents the fact that all ongoing requirements have been met, to the status assessor for review and approval. The request must be completed and signed by the owner and the accredited veterinarian responsible for the flock/herd.

2.3 Suspension/Revoking of Registration/Appeals

If the owner of a registered flock/herd contravenes the program rules, the organization responsible for status assessment will temporarily suspend the certification status of the flock/herd, and after reviewing the situation, may reinstate at the same level, downgrade, or revoke the status of the flock/herd and remove it from the program.

An owner whose flock/herd is under review for possible removal from the program will be given the opportunity to submit any relevant information to the status assessor, provided that this is done no later than 30 days after suspension.

Any owner who fails to submit an inspection report within the month following the end of the anniversary quarter will have their flock/herd automatically suspended.

The status assessor will notify the owner and the accredited veterinarian in writing of the reasons for the decision and give the owner the opportunity to appeal within the following 60 days. The notice will include the name and address of the responsible person within the appeal committee as established by the status assessor.

An owner whose flock/herd has been removed from the program due to contravention of program rules may submit a new application after meeting the conditions stipulated in the program. In such a case, the owner must submit satisfactory proof to the status assessor that steps have been taken to ensure that the flock/herd will meet the program requirements in the future. In the case of a flock/herd that is reinstated in the program, the reinstatement level will depend on the reasons for suspension. The flock/herd will not be automatically reinstated at its previous level. In cases where the flock/herd was removed for reasons of information falsification, failure to report to a veterinary inspector that an animal might have scrapie, or any other action that might expose other animals to scrapie, an owner may lose the privilege of registering in the program.

If a participating flock/herd is found to be either infected with, or a source of scrapie, its certification status will be immediately suspended. The flock/herd will be subject to the scrapie eradication program governed by the Health of Animals Act and the Health of Animals Regulations. Following completion of the scrapie eradication program procedures, the flock/herd may be reinstated in the VSFCP at the appropriate pathway and level.

A producer may appeal a decision regarding advancement or downgrading in the event of an incomplete or unsatisfactory application for advancement. A producer may also appeal a temporary suspension or a revocation of registration, but not both.

2.4 Reports

The results of all reports, including information on registrations, tests, suspensions, revocations, and changes in status, are distributed to the owner, the accredited veterinarian and the CFIA district veterinarian.

The regional administrator will maintain a list of all flocks and herds enrolled in the program, along with the pathway and their current level, on the Scrapie Canada website. Flock/herds for which a report is not submitted to the status assessor within the prescribed time will be identified on the website as being suspended.

The quarterly report published by the CFIA will be produced and automatically distributed to all provinces, and/or published on the website. It will list all registered and certified flocks and herds, along with their pathway and certification levels.

Records must be kept of feed given to animals, according to the Health of Animals Act and the Health of Animals Regulations.

2.5 Review of the Program

The VSFCP will be reviewed on an annual basis and/or as scientific information becomes available and changes are required.

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