Canada and the US sign a bilateral trade protocol to deal with ASF in wild boar

The US and Canadian Departments of Agriculture have signed a protocol to minimize disruption to trade if ASF is detected in feral pigs.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant HEALTH Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have developed a protocol to ensure that bilateral trade relations are maintained when African swine fever (ASF) is detected in feral pigs in each of the countries in the absence of disease in domestic pigs.

The protocol aims to protect pig populations in both countries during an outbreak of ASF in feral pigs while minimizing the impact on trade in live pigs, pig products and other swine commodities. Initially, when ASF was detected in wild pigs, trade relations between the two countries ceased. Now, in accordance with the protocol, trade interaction continues in three successive phases with a gradual easing of restrictions on trade in live pigs, pig genetic material and raw pig products.

The speed with which initial control areas are set up in the US and CANADA, and how quickly action is taken to monitor/detect and eradicate the outbreak in feral pigs and monitor domestic pigs, will determine when the second stage of the protocol occurs. During the third and final phase, trade restrictions are reduced only to the boundaries that define the control zones.

APHIS and CFIA continue to work with industry and other industry players to ensure that processes and procedures are in place in both countries to fully implement the protocol.