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Shipping heifers to the U.S. has dire consequences without complete source Verification Records
Harry Siemens - At least three live cattle exporters and two veterinarians wish they hadn't exported heifers from Manitoba to the United States because some of the heifers were pregnant.
According to Dr. Allan Preston, Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture said at least three shipments out of Manitoba have included pregnant heifers in addition to the one shipped from Ontario that included one 31-month-old animal and eight pregnant heifers.
"Before we rush to any conclusions on the Manitoba shipments, the mistakes are honest ones," said Preston. "These heifers that are going for slaughter based on the wording of the rule cannot be pregnant. As part of the process, the heifers are pregnancy-tested by rectal palpation to determine if they're open or not."
The veterinarian to the best of his ability makes that call and it's not as easy as some might think to be 100 percent accurate on a 100 percent of the heifers.
"These animals going down there and turning up pregnant are not ones that are four or five or seven months pregnant, they are heifers that are 30, 40, or maybe 50 days pregnant," he said. "You have to look pretty closely on the kill floor to find a fetus let alone with your hand up the cow's behind making the check."
It also varies from one vet to the next because one who does all kinds of dairy work in his daily practice is used to picking up these pregnancies. However, for a beef cattle veterinarian where the producer tests most of his cows for pregnancies in the fall, when they're four to six months pregnant, it's a little different ballgame.
A rule is a rule. When this happens, the reports goes back to the Canadian officials because it doesn't affect the meat that goes through without any dockage, the price is the same as the next one that wasn't pregnant. Nevertheless, CFIA has to go back and look at the veterinarian that did the accreditation; slap his knuckles and tell the exporter to stop shipping pregnant heifers.
"We now have three vets in Manitoba who have lost their accreditation for exporting cattle to the U.S., and we have at least three exporters who have a strike against them," said Preston. "The bottom line is its all for a reason that's rather inconsequential in the whole scheme of things, but the end result is we have the situation where people will back off very, very quickly from exporting heifers to the U.S."
He said the industry will back off for two reasons, either the exporter doesn't want to get his knuckles wrapped, and more directly, the vet will refuse to sign that piece of paper giving the go ahead to export heifers.
The one in Wisconsin is a different deal altogether. There were some people really pushing the envelope, but these from Manitoba are pure and simple errors that would happen with anybody pregnant checking cows. Yet in this situation comes back to haunt the person making the mistake whether honest or not.
The load to the Wisconsin packer came from Ontario and Manitoba doesn't have to wear the goat's horn on that one.
"Either way, it's an unfortunate situation, but it will very quickly have everyone backing right off on sending slaughter heifers to the U.S. It's just not worth the risk," he said. "The other side of this equation is the last thing we want to do is get back to this situation of giving R-CALF any ammunition. Each time one of these things happens, it just gives them that."
It didn't take long for U.S. border opening opponent R-CALF to show their distaste and say we told you so. R-Calf president Leo McDonnell asked the question after the USDA argued this cow was just one month over the age limit, but how many other Canadian cattle have come into the U.S. in violation of the age constraints, and how much past 30 months of age are they?
He said this incident shows a failure of several key BSE firewalls USDA claims exist for Canadian cattle imports. First, the age test failed, and the U.S. requirements for the removal of SRMs failed, and the USDA has failed to be transparent and reveal what happened to the remainder of this particular cow.
Harry Siemens - At least three live cattle exporters and two veterinarians wish they hadn't exported heifers from Manitoba to the United States because some of the heifers were pregnant.
According to Dr. Allan Preston, Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture said at least three shipments out of Manitoba have included pregnant heifers in addition to the one shipped from Ontario that included one 31-month-old animal and eight pregnant heifers.
"Before we rush to any conclusions on the Manitoba shipments, the mistakes are honest ones," said Preston. "These heifers that are going for slaughter based on the wording of the rule cannot be pregnant. As part of the process, the heifers are pregnancy-tested by rectal palpation to determine if they're open or not."
The veterinarian to the best of his ability makes that call and it's not as easy as some might think to be 100 percent accurate on a 100 percent of the heifers.
"These animals going down there and turning up pregnant are not ones that are four or five or seven months pregnant, they are heifers that are 30, 40, or maybe 50 days pregnant," he said. "You have to look pretty closely on the kill floor to find a fetus let alone with your hand up the cow's behind making the check."
It also varies from one vet to the next because one who does all kinds of dairy work in his daily practice is used to picking up these pregnancies. However, for a beef cattle veterinarian where the producer tests most of his cows for pregnancies in the fall, when they're four to six months pregnant, it's a little different ballgame.
A rule is a rule. When this happens, the reports goes back to the Canadian officials because it doesn't affect the meat that goes through without any dockage, the price is the same as the next one that wasn't pregnant. Nevertheless, CFIA has to go back and look at the veterinarian that did the accreditation; slap his knuckles and tell the exporter to stop shipping pregnant heifers.
"We now have three vets in Manitoba who have lost their accreditation for exporting cattle to the U.S., and we have at least three exporters who have a strike against them," said Preston. "The bottom line is its all for a reason that's rather inconsequential in the whole scheme of things, but the end result is we have the situation where people will back off very, very quickly from exporting heifers to the U.S."
He said the industry will back off for two reasons, either the exporter doesn't want to get his knuckles wrapped, and more directly, the vet will refuse to sign that piece of paper giving the go ahead to export heifers.
The one in Wisconsin is a different deal altogether. There were some people really pushing the envelope, but these from Manitoba are pure and simple errors that would happen with anybody pregnant checking cows. Yet in this situation comes back to haunt the person
The load to the Wisconsin packer came from Ontario and Manitoba doesn't have to wear the goat's horn on that one.
"Either way, it's an unfortunate situation, but it will very quickly have everyone backing right off on sending slaughter heifers to the U.S. It's just not worth the risk," he said. "The other side of this equation is the last thing we want to do is get back to this situation of giving R-CALF any ammunition. Each time one of these things happens, it just gives them that."
It didn't take long for U.S. border opening opponent R-CALF to show their distaste and say we told you so. R-Calf president Leo McDonnell asked the question after the USDA argued this cow was just one month over the age limit, but how many other Canadian cattle have come into the U.S. in violation of the age constraints, and how much past 30 months of age are they?
He said this incident shows a failure of several key BSE firewalls USDA claims exist for Canadian cattle imports. First, the age test failed, and the U.S. requirements for the removal of SRMs failed, and the USDA has failed to be transparent and reveal what happened to the remainder of this particular cow.
