Question Period Note: CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN CANADA

Q1 – What is the Government’s response to chronic wasting disease in Canada? Q2 – Does chronic wasting disease pose a risk to human health or food safety? Q3 - What is the Government’s approach to reducing the trade impact of chronic wasting disease?

R.1 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency responds immediately to all cases of confirmed chronic wasting disease in farmed cervids to control the spread of the disease. It also administers a Herd Certification Program, which requires enrolled producers to take preventative measures against chronic wasting disease.

A notice of disposal of the herd population may be issued for those producers whose herds have become infected, despite their compliance with strict biosecurity requirements.

Compensation may be provided under the Health of Animals Act and its Regulations to assist producers. R.2 - While there is no direct evidence to date to suggest that chronic wasting disease may be transmitted to humans, Health Canada recommends taking a precautionary approach.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments are working collaboratively to minimize human exposure by preventing any known chronic wasting disease positive animal from entering the food chain.

Cervids slaughtered in federally-inspected facilities are all tested for the disease, as are those slaughtered in provincially and territorially inspected facilities in the Yukon, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Under the Herd Certification Program, enrolled herds must be tested at slaughter whether it is in a federal, provincial or other facility. R.3 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program facilitates trade when countries have assessed the Program as meeting their import requirements. Importing countries determine their import standards for all diseases they consider important, including chronic wasting disease.

The export certification process aims to ensure that cervids exported from Canada meet all animal health conditions, including chronic wasting disease, for entry into the country of destination.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency must notify trading partners if animals with links to premises that are positive for chronic wasting disease have been exported. Importing countries determine their response to such exports. These can include temporary or permanent restrictions on exports from Canada.

Cervid exports have been negatively impacted by the presence of CWD both in farmed cervids and wild populations. Currently, the United States (US) and Mexico (minimal) are the only markets.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working with the industry to address the U.S. concerns and minimize the risk of further spreading CWD.

First detected in Canada in 1996, chronic wasting disease is a contagious, progressive and fatal disease that affects cervids (deer, elk, moose, caribou and reindeer). It spreads by direct contact with an infected animal or a contaminated environment.

Chronic wasting disease is present in large areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan in both farmed and wild cervids and has been detected in wild deer in Manitoba since November 1, 2021. It was discovered in wild deer in British Columbia for the first time on January 31, 2024. On September 10, 2018, chronic wasting disease was detected in farmed cervids on one farm in Québec. The farm was depopulated with no further detections in farmed or wild cervids. Chronic wasting disease has not been detected in wild caribou in North America.

Farmed cervid producers are responsible for complying with legislative and regulatory requirements. In Canada, the federal/provincial/territorial and Indigenous governments have shared areas of responsibility in relation to the management of chronic wasting disease in both farmed and wild cervids.

Canada has regulatory and policy measures in place to help manage chronic wasting disease under the Health of Animals Act and its Regulations. Chronic wasting disease is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act. This means that all suspected cases must be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for immediate investigation. If the CFIA determines that chronic wasting disease may be the cause of disease in a herd, the animals may be ordered destroyed.

Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program

In 2017, the CFIA updated the national standard for its Herd Certification Program which was established in 2002. The Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (CWD HCP) is a voluntary program delivered and administered by third parties and audited by the CFIA.

The updated CWD HCP requires enrolled producers to take preventative measures against chronic wasting disease in keeping with the current science of the disease. These measures include limiting the introduction of cervids into a herd, testing mature cervids that are killed or die, and practicing additional biosecurity measures such as fencing to reduce the likelihood of entry of wild cervids and protecting feed on the premises from access by wild animals.

Only producers enrolled in and compliant with a CWD HCP for at least 12 months are deemed eligible for depopulation and compensation under CFIA’s response plan.

The CFIA has also developed an enhancement to the chronic wasting disease compartment response. It may implement depopulation and compensation measures on the first cervid farm to detect chronic wasting disease (not only CWD HCP farms) in provinces/territories where chronic wasting disease has not yet been detected. This enhancement is only available if the responsible wildlife authority in the affected province/territory agrees to implement eradication measures in wildlife surrounding the infected farm, including increased surveillance to detect the disease.

Historically, this drastic approach has been the only effective measure of preventing establishment of chronic wasting disease within a geographic region. This collaborative approach was implemented in Québec in response to their first case detected in September of 2018. The CFIA has negotiated a similar agreement with the wildlife ministry in Ontario.

The domestic CWD HCP standard is applied across the country and allows movement of animals between herds of identical status level. The CWD HCP serves as a trade facilitation tool when it is seen as equivalent to another country’s domestic control programs. The United States of America (USA) Department of Agriculture notified the CFIA in 2023 that the Canadian CWD HCP is not seen as equivalent to the program in the USA. This has led to substantial changes to export certification processes to maintain export eligibility. Going forward, CFIA will work with industry and P/T government partners to achieve equivalency between Canadian and US CWD HCPs.

Due to shipments which were found to not meet requirements of the USA and differences in the Canadian CWD control programs, the USA has suspended routine exports of cervids until spring 2029. Certain derogations are possible, on a case-by-case basis. The CFIA is working with the industry in an attempt to find a solution that assists in returning to more typical number of shipments and meets the requirements of the USA and minimizes the risk of further spreading CWD.

Transmission to humans and other animals

To date, there has been no known transmission of chronic wasting disease to humans. Extensive disease surveillance in Canada over the last 50 years and elsewhere has not provided any direct evidence that chronic wasting disease has infected humans. However, there is still scientific uncertainty regarding transmission to humans as animal studies suggest that chronic wasting disease could affect some types of non-human primates under experimental conditions. Experts continue to study chronic wasting disease and its potential to infect other animals and humans. As a precaution, measures are in place to prevent known infected animals from entering the food chain, including the following:

mandatory testing of cervids sent for slaughter (over the age of 12 months) at all abattoirs in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon, Quebec and Ontario. This is based on provincial testing requirements and applies to federal, provincial and territorial abattoirs in those provinces. In all federal establishments and most provincial establishments, live animal inspections are performed before slaughter and carcasses are detained until results of these tests are received.

not allowing animals known to be infected with chronic wasting disease to enter the commercial food chain.

reporting all suspected cases immediately to the CFIA, as chronic wasting disease is a “reportable disease” under the Health of Animals Act.

The Health Portfolio has updated risk communications products in collaboration with their federal, provincial and territorial partners.

The provinces and territories take the lead role in monitoring and implementing any control measures taken in regards to chronic wasting disease in wild cervids. Communication materials have been collaboratively developed for hunters by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture Agri-Food Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Voluntary programs are in place to test hunted cervid carcasses for chronic wasting disease prior to consumption.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is supporting the provincial and territorial wildlife managers on their CWD-related measures with particular attention to protecting the caribou herd, as it poses a significant risk to food security for indigenous populations.

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting animal health by contributing to efforts in controlling the spread of chronic wasting disease in Canada, while minimizing potential human exposure.

Canadian federal control programs are available to captive cervid (deer and elk) producers to reduce the risk of the introduction of chronic wasting disease onto their farms.

The Government, in collaboration with provincial and territorial partners, continues to raise awareness about chronic wasting disease.