CVC REPORT
This article was originally printed in the Feb / March 2000 issue of Tracking The Industry. . .
What is this group our association has been
spending money on? Well first let me start with an explanation of the acronym
C.V.C. This stands for Canadian Venison Council and it is made up of a selected
group of Cervid ranchers representing their provincial and federal
associations. Now this group of ranchers is put together to deal with Cervid
health issues in Canada and for that point North America. The mandate of the
C.V.C. is as reads: "C.V.C. shall be a non-profit corporation whose purposes
are as follows: a) to encourage, advance, improve, and protect the industry of
Cervid farming and ranching in Canada; b) to represent the industry in
discussions and negotiations regarding national and international issues
affecting the animal health management of farmed and ranched Cervids in Canada,
including but not restriced to protocols for movement into and throughout
Canada, the National Animal Health Program and the requirements fo the Health
of Animal Act."
Our
group works hand in hand with both federal (C.F.I.A.) and provincial
governments, dealing with sensitive health and other important issues facing
the Canadian Cervid industry. The C.V.C. has been instrumental in building and
protecting our industry. Some of its accomplishments include: The code of
practice for the care and handling of farmed deer, which has quieted the
concerns of animal welfare groups. The protocol for movement of deer in and out
of the United States. I believe the C.V.C. will remain an ikon in the Cervid
industry in Canada.
You
may be wondering why I'm always refering to our deer and elk as Cervids. It is
because we deal with all deer issues (ie) reindeer, fallow, moose, etc.
Representation from all groups belonging to the C.V.C. is comprised of one
board/voting member on the C.V.C. for every one hundred members of each
association. Enough about the current issues we are dealing with. First I want
to share the relationship between the C.V.C. and the E.B.C. (Elk Breeders of
Canada). The EBC is a newly formed association Canada-wide representing all
provincial elk associations. They are going to deal with the marketing and
promotion of elk and their products. The C.V.C. will remain strong and deal
with its mandate. The next hot topic is T.B. We are working with a committee in
which they are trying to develop and validate an accurate blood test for
tuberculosis which will hopefully replace the current mid cervical test. This
would be great for our industry due to the fact we would only have to handle
our animals once while T.B. testing. The head of this steering committee is Dr.
Murray JWoodbury form the U of S and the C.V.C. has elected myself and Denise
Smith (S.E.B.A.) to represent the C.V.C. While on the T.B. topic the C.V.C. has
been lobbying the government to raise compensation maximums. They finally have
agreed to raise it to $4000.00 max... for the cervid industry. We don't believe
this is enough but it is much better than the current $2000.00 limit. This will
hopefully be in effect by May of 2000. While at the past C.V.C. meeting the
C.F.I.A. held a meeting dealing with C.W.D. (Chronic Wasting Disease). The
objectives of this meeting were: to examine whate is known about C.W.D. in
cervids; to identify potential control or eradication measures; to determine
the most effective type of serveillance for disease detection; and to ascertain
what responses to a positive finding would be appropriate to meet stakeholder
expectations. This meeting consisted of industry, governments, scientists and
disease experts. At the conclusion of this meeting consensus was met. It is
lengthy but a few key points are 1) C.W.D. will be a reportable disease; 2)
C.F.E.A. will develop a program of surveillance control and compensation; 3)
mandatory national identification and inventory program developed by C.F.I.A.,
Industry, and provincial authorizes to include all non-free ranging
cervids.
These are only
a few of the points I have mentioned in result of these meetings. If anyone in
our association would like to know more or have any issues they would like
brought up at the C.V.C. or for that fact at our association meetings please
feel free to phone me with your concerns. Until next time!
P.S. It is easier to contact me in
the evenings - thanks.
Rodney Boutin (306)825-0220 S.W.A.M.D.P.A. /
C.V.C.
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