Feedlot Movement Requirements

Animal Movement is one of the three components of traceability. Together with Animal Identification and Premises Identification (PID), it provides the ability to trace where an animal has been and what animals it has come in contact with over the course of its life. In the event of a disease outbreak, knowing the movement history of an animal is very important in supporting efficient trace-back.

Why is Animal Movement Reporting Important?

• Tracking animal movement, including what other animals have been in contact with an animal at commingling sites (where animals from different owners meet and are mixed together), allows for a swift and accurate response if there is a disease outbreak. Improved trace back resulting from animal movement tracking helps to:
  – determine the source of disease
  – target only those animals affected
  – ensure the right strategy for curtailing further exposure or losses
  – reduce the potential spread of disease and the costly impacts that follow
  – reduce the time for markets to reopen.
• Canada’s traceability system for beef cattle captures and tracks a unique identification number assigned to each animal in the food chain. This is done through the use of Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) approved radio frequency (RFID) ear tags. These tags are approved and managed by the CCIA.
• The Canadian cattle industry supports the principle of traceability. The industry is committed to meeting domestic and international animal health and food safety requirements and improving our animal health emergency response capabilities.
• In 2008, the Alberta Cattle Movement Working Group was formed with representatives from key cattle industry organizations, service agencies across the supply chain and government officials. This group provides recommendations for industry adoption that meet traceability requirements and are practical, sustainable and ensure that movement requirements don’t negatively impact speed of commerce.

• feedlot premises number
• individual RFID ear tag number of each animal entering the lot
• the date of entry into the feedlot.

• To help with these new requirements, feedlot operators can access the RFID Technology Assistance Program through Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). This program offers cost-shared support to help feedlots purchase:
  – RFID reader systems
  – RFID uploading software.

• The application form and program conditions are available on the Growing Forward website at: (http://www.growingforward.alberta.ca/growingforward/index.html).