BSE Surveillance in Alberta and Canada

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has put together a new YouTube video on the importance of BSE surveillance in Canada and Alberta.




CCA President Dave Solverson is among the familiar faces producers will recognize in a new YouTube video on the importance of BSE surveillance in Canada and Alberta. Aimed at cattle producers, the video serves as an excellent reminder of how producers can do their part to help Canada keep its place as a beef exporting country.

Producers are being encouraged to submit at least one cow per year for sampling. This will go a long way in ensuring Canada continues to meet its commitment to the OIE to maintain surveillance and testing levels in order to meet the expectations of Canada’s domestic and international customers.

“The measures in place are doing their job but we still need to ensure surveillance is at the appropriate level to measure the effectiveness of the controls,” Solverson says. “It is something that we must do in order to continue selling our beef around the world.”

BSE surveillance leads to increased access to international markets and potential risk-free status. Solverson urged producers to do their part. “BSE is everyone’s responsibility,” he says.

The release of the video comes at a time of year when producers take stock of the animals they have on-farm and make culling decisions. Cattle between 30 months and 10 years of age provide the most valuable information in terms of monitoring the cattle population for BSE. However, any animals older than 30 months of age that fits into one of the categories of dead, down, dying or diseased are potential candidates for testing. The program provides a veterinarian visit at no cost to the producer.