Alberta’s provincial Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier and Medicine Hat MLA Bob Wanner (r) met Dec. 21 with producers affected by the bovine tuberculosis outbreak near Jenner, about 75 km northeast of Brooks. (Government of Alberta photo)

Quarantines added in bovine TB probe

Federal inspectors’ search for animals exposed to one of six Alberta cattle confirmed with bovine tuberculosis (TB) has led them to quarantine more farm sites for testing. As of Wednesday, “approximately 50” farm sites, mostly in southeastern Alberta with “approximately five” in southwestern Saskatchewan, are under quarantine and movement controls, affecting about 26,000 animals, the […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Six quarantines lifted in bovine TB probe

Six premises deemed to be “low-risk” have been released from federal quarantine as officials continue their hunt for Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle exposed to bovine tuberculosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported it had lifted movement controls on six premises where “appropriate testing” has been completed on cattle so far in the agency’s […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

New quarantines added in bovine TB probe

About 50 premises in Alberta and Saskatchewan are now under federal quarantine as the hunt continues for animals exposed this fall to one of six Alberta cattle with bovine tuberculosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Wednesday it had added more premises to the quarantined list, covering over 26,000 animals, including infected premises. The 50-odd […] Read more

(MHEby.com)

Livestock transport regulations up for comment

The public can comment until mid-February on proposed new livestock transport regulations which the government says will help Canada line up with international standards and limit how long livestock can go unfed during shipping. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced amendments to the federal Health of Animals Regulations dealing with transportation have been […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Canada again declares as avian flu-free

With an Ontario duck farm depopulated and disinfected, and no new outbreaks in the three following months, Canada has again declared itself free of notifiable avian flu. The federal government announced Wednesday it has informed the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that Ontario is considered free of avian influenza as per OIE guidelines. About […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Quarantined Alberta ranches to get AgriRecovery

Ranchers in southeastern Alberta having to feed and maintain quarantined cattle they can’t move or sell can expect a federal/provincial AgriRecovery plan to help cover those costs in the next few days. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and his Alberta counterpart Oneil Carlier on Wednesday announced producers faced with “extraordinary costs” due to federal quarantines […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More culls, quarantines added to bovine TB probe

Thousands more cattle and calves in southeastern Alberta are now booked to be destroyed, as a search continues for animals that had contact with one or more of six tuberculosis-infected Alberta cattle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced its “herd” of animals known to have commingled with the TB-infected cattle has expanded to […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Federal Tories, NDP press for TB quarantine compensation

Under pressure in the Commons Tuesday, the federal government has committed to “look into options” to compensate Alberta and Saskatchewan producers having to feed cattle they’re prohibited from selling. Federal Conservative and NDP agriculture critics David Anderson and Ruth Ellen Brosseau separately took the government to task this week over the costs producers have to […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Bovine TB probe turns up more TB-positive cattle

Federal inspectors have confirmed a southeastern Alberta cow found with bovine tuberculosis in September was not just a one-off. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Friday reported five more cattle from the initial cow’s index herd in southeastern Alberta are confirmed to have been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria — presumed to be to be […] Read more

Tuberculosis bacteria under an electron microscope. (Janice Haney Carr photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.))

Bovine TB strain of Mexican origin in Alberta probe

While new to Canada, the strain of tuberculosis bacteria which infected the Alberta cow at the centre of a bovine TB probe has been seen before in Mexico. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported the strain of Mycobacterium bovis found in a southeastern Alberta cow is “closely related” to a strain originating from […] Read more