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5.4 Sheep and goats

Sheep and goats for immediate slaughter

Veterinarians authorized to certify sheep and goat to the U.S. may certify both slaughter and non-slaughter categories.

Health certification

The export certificate HA2185 Export Sheep and Goats for Slaughter from Canada to the United States of America must be used.

The Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) slaughtering establishment must have prior approval by Veterinary Services (VS) in accordance with the United States Department Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA APHIS) VS Guidance Document "Importation of Restricted Animals from Canada and Mexico for Immediate Slaughter" (see the USDA Immediate Slaughter Facility Approved List).

Sheep and goats for export were born in the United States (U.S.) or Canada and have been in no other region, or were legally imported from a Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)-free region and have been unconditionally authorized to move freely in Canada for at least 60 days prior to exportation.

Sheep and goats for export must have been kept in Canada or the U.S. during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of shipment to the U.S. and, during those 60 days, Canada must have been free from Foot-and-Mouth Disease, rinderpest, and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

The animals for export must not be in quarantine in Canada.

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) in sheep and goats are compulsorily notifiable to the national veterinary authority of Canada.

An effective classical scrapie awareness, surveillance, monitoring and control system is in place.

TSE-affected sheep and goats are killed and completely destroyed.

The sheep and goats selected for export showed no clinical signs of scrapie on the day of shipment and are fit for travel.

Sheep and goats must have been subject to a ruminant feed ban equivalent to the requirements established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Sheep and goats for export have been inspected and found to be free from any evidence of communicable disease and, as far as it can be determined, have not been exposed to any such disease during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of shipment.

The sheep and goats must not have tested positive or be a suspect for a TSE.

The movement of the sheep and goats must not have been restricted within Canada as a result of exposure to a TSE.

No tests are required for sheep and goats for immediate slaughter.

Certification procedure

Within the 30 days before the planned export date, an accredited veterinarian must inspect each individual animal presented for export.

For sheep, the official ear tag is a tag approved by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) (or a tag deemed equivalent) under the Livestock Identification and Traceability ((TRACE) Program.

For goats, the official ear tag is a tag pre-approved by CFIA under the Livestock Identification and Traceability (TRACE) Program.

All tags must be clean and readable. All numbers that appear on the ear tag must be recorded on the export certificate.

Note: while it is not a USDA requirement that the ear tag numbers be listed in ascending numerical order on the certificate, accredited veterinarians are encouraged to complete certificates in this manner. This practice will facilitate inspection at the U.S. port of entry and minimize delays.

How to complete the Canadian health certificate (HA2185)

The accredited veterinarian must use the most recent version of the HA2185 export certificate.

In the column "Age (Months) (Estimated)" the actual age or an estimated age in months is indicated.

The accredited veterinarian must complete the export health certificate by entering all the necessary information with the exception of the number of animals in the shipment.

The "Reference number" is assigned by the CFIA district office.

The completed and signed health certificate will be submitted to a CFIA veterinary inspector for review and if all requirements are met, it will be endorsed.

The accredited veterinarian or their technician must record the number of animals in the shipment in the appropriate sections on the endorsed original health certificate, and initial the appropriate section.

During loading, if animals must be removed from the shipment after the health certificate has been endorsed by the CFIA veterinary inspector, accredited veterinarians should not cross out any of these animals that are listed on the health certificate.

The routing of the shipment must be based on information provided by the exporter and must include the names of the main highways to be followed in Canada and the U.S. and the name of the location where the animals were loaded in Canada.

An official Canadian health certificate (HA2185) endorsed by a CFIA veterinary inspector and 2 copies of the certificate must accompany each export shipment.

Note: each truckload constitutes 1 shipment; therefore, a separate original health certificate must be issued for each vehicle.

Additional requirements

Importers are advised that individual states may have added import requirements.

It is the importer's responsibility to verify these conditions and to meet them.

The importer should contact the U.S. State veterinarian (State Regulations and Import Requirements) of the destination state to determine these regulations.

Inspections at U.S. ports of entry

The animals must be presented at the U.S. port of entry by appointment.

The shipment must be accompanied by U.S. Veterinary Services Form 17-29 (Declaration of Importation) and the official Canadian health certificate (HA2185).

Refer to section 5.1 Export to the U.S. – General for the list of land ports of entry designated as having the necessary inspection facilities for the entry of animals from Canada.

Animals will not be routinely off loaded for individual inspection at the POE. However, POE officials may, at their discretion, request off loading when there are welfare concerns or other circumstances that warrant such inspection.

Although the list was provided by the USDA, it is the exporters' responsibility to present their animals to a U.S. port of entry that has the facilities required for the unloading and inspection of such animals.

Trucks will be sealed at the U.S. port of entry (POE) following inspection to their final destination.

References

Export certificate HA2185 is available from your district veterinarian.

Sheep and goats for feeding

Health certification

The feedlot of destination must have prior approval from U.S. Veterinary Services to receive feeder sheep and goats from Canada.

Sheep and goats imported for feeding must be accompanied by an import permit obtained in advance from the following:

Live Animal Import Permits
USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services
National Import Export Services
4700 River Road, Unit 39
Riverdale, Maryland 20737

The permit is valid for 14 days from the date specified on the application as the "proposed arrival date."

Post entry requirements listed on the import permit are the responsibility of the destination feed lot.

The HA2186 Export Sheep or Goats for Feeding from Canada to the United States of America export certificate and the "Agent or Owner's and/or Exporter's Declaration" must be used.

Sheep and goats for export were born in the United States (U.S.) or Canada and have been in no other region, or were legally imported from a BSE-free region and have been unconditionally authorized to move freely in Canada for at least 60 days prior to exportation (or 90 days if originating from a region not recognized as free of foot and mouth disease by the USDA APHIS).The animals for export must not be in quarantine in Canada.

Note: animals that were under movement controls or quarantine for investigation purposes, where

the investigation has concluded:

are not considered to have been "under restriction/quarantine" and are eligible for export the day that the CFIA releases them.

The countryFootnote 1, regionFootnote 1 or zoneFootnote 1 of Canada from which the animals originate and are exported from, is officially free, in livestock, without vaccination, from the following contagious diseases:

With regard to Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) (that is,

scrapie):

Female sheep and goats for export must not be known to be or appear visibly pregnant and have not been exposed to a sexually intact male over 5 months of age within the past 5 months prior to export.

For mixed shipments containing uncastrated male animals and female animals, uncastrated males must be physically separated from females within the conveyance.

The sheep and goats must have been subject to a ruminant feed ban equivalent to the requirements established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (effective date March 1, 1999).

Sheep and goats for export must have been inspected within 30 days of the export along with their flock of residence and found to be free from any evidence of communicable disease

As far as it can be determined, must not have been exposed to any such disease during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of shipment.

The animals for export have continually resided since birth in a brucellosis and tuberculosis free province or territory or in a brucellosis and tuberculosis free herd.

No tests are required for sheep and goats exported to the U.S. for feeding.

Certification procedure

Within the 30 days before the planned export date, an accredited veterinarian must inspect each animal presented for export at its flock of residence.

For sheep and goats, the official ear tag is a tag approved or pre-approved (in the case of goats) by CFIA (or a tag deemed equivalent) under the Livestock Identification and Traceability (TRACE) Program.

All tags must be clean and readable. All numbers that appear on the ear tag must be recorded on the export certificate.

Any secondary ID (such as unapproved dangle tags) should also be recorded by the AV within their records so that if a question arises in the U.S., there is additional ways to verify the animal met the export requirements.

Note: while it is not a USDA requirement that the ear tag numbers be listed in ascending numerical order on the certificate, accredited veterinarians are encouraged to complete certificates in this manner to facilitate inspection at the U.S. port of entry and minimize delays.

In addition to the above official tag requirements, the sheep and goats must also meet 1 of the following (strike out and initial on the certificate as appropriate):

Other means of permanent identification as required in article 22.6 of the HA 2186 may be used if requested in writing and approved before export by the National Import / Export Services of the USDA.

How to complete the Canadian health certificate (HA2186)

The accredited veterinarian must use the most recent version of the HA2186 export certificate.

In the column "Age (YYYY-MM-DD)," enter the actual birth date in the indicated format.

The accredited veterinarian must complete the export health certificate by entering all the necessary information with the exception of the number of animals in the shipment and the seal numbers.

The accredited veterinarian must, on the day of export, return to the farm to inspect the animals loaded (as per article 22.3.4 of the HA2186) and to apply CFIA seals to the transporting vehicles, after verifying that only the animals listed on the export certificate are included in the shipment.

The accredited veterinarian or their designated technician must record the number of animals in the shipment and the CFIA seal numbers in the appropriate sections on the endorsed original health certificate, and initial the appropriate section.

During loading, if animals must be removed from the shipment after the health certificate has been endorsed by the CFIA veterinary inspector, accredited veterinarians should not cross out any of these animals that are listed on the health certificate.

If the seals are broken or missing, or if they do not match the seal numbers recorded on the health certificate, the shipment will be refused entry into the U.S.

The routing of the shipment must be based on information provided by the exporter and must include the names of the main highways to be followed in Canada and the U.S. and the name of the location where the animals were loaded in Canada.

The official Canadian health certificate (HA2186) endorsed by a CFIA veterinary inspector and 2 copies of the certificate must accompany each export shipment.

A separate health certificate must be issued for each vehicle.

Before arrival at the U.S. border, the seals cannot be broken by anyone other than a CFIA inspector or a person under the inspector's supervision.

Use and control of CFIA seals

The export of sheep and goats to the U.S. must be done in vehicles that are sealed at the location from which the animals are being shipped.

seals must be applied by the accredited veterinarian who signs the certificate or by a technician designated by the accredited veterinarian.

The CFIA's Animal Health district office will provide seals for the vehicles.

Seals may be allocated to an accredited veterinarian or to a veterinary clinic when more than 1 accredited veterinarian is employed by the same clinic.

The district office will keep records containing the seal numbers and the names of the accredited veterinarians or veterinary clinics to which the seals were distributed.

Once seals are applied to all possible exits of a vehicle transporting livestock, accredited veterinarians or their designated technicians must record the numbers on the official export certificate in the appropriate section and initial the appropriate section.

Accredited veterinarians must keep records of the seals that are used.

Seal numbers must be matched with export certificate numbers.

These records must be kept for a minimum of 3 years.

Accredited veterinarians must submit, upon request, a list of the seals used and the corresponding export certificate numbers to the CFIA's Animal Health district office.

A document containing the following information can be sent by facsimile, electronic mail or regular mail.

Inspections at U.S. ports of entry

The animals must be presented at the U.S. port of entry by appointment.

The shipment must be accompanied by U.S. Veterinary Services Form 17-29 (Declaration of Importation) and the official Canadian health certificate (HA2186).

Animals will not be routinely off loaded for individual inspection at the POE. However, POE officials may, at their discretion, request off loading when there are welfare concerns or other circumstances that warrant such inspection. Otherwise, full entry inspection and breaking of seals will be conducted by USDA APHIS officials at the destination feedlot.

Refer to module 5.1 Export to the U.S. – General for the list of land ports of entry designated as having the necessary inspection facilities for the entry of animals from Canada.

References

Export certificate HA2186 and the Agent or Owner and/or Exporter's Declaration are available from your district veterinarian. They may also provide you with a sample of the Addendum for Animals Not Included in the Shipment, which can be printed on your official letterhead.

Sheep and goats for breeding or production

Health certification

The HA1944 Export Sheep or Goats for Breeding or Production from Canada to the United States of America Export Certificate must be used.

Sheep and goats for breeding or production must be accompanied by an import permit obtained in advance by the importer from the following:

Live Animal Import Permits
USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services
National Import Export Services
4700 River Road, Unit 39
Riverdale, Maryland 20737

When applying for an import permit, the following information must be provided:

The permit is valid for 14 days from the date specified on the application as the "proposed arrival date."

The animals were born in the United States or Canada or were legally imported into Canada and have been under no movement restrictions within Canada or the United States for at least 60 days prior to importation into the United States.

Canada is free of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), rinderpest, surra and contagious pleuropneumonia.

With regards to scrapie the following conditions must be fulfilled:

With regards to flock or animal eligibility, 1 of the following conditions must be met:

Note: information on the performance of genotype testing can be found in module 3.5 of this manual.

Note: within 30 days after entry into the U.S., the U.S. importer must make arrangement to collect and submit the samples to National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) or another laboratory designated by NVSL to verify genotype.

If a female is implanted with an embryo, it is indicated in the description section on the identification of animals attachment and the embryo has been certified by the CFIA as meeting United States import conditions for embryos.

The female sheep or goats listed on this health certificate are of breeding age (other than female lambs or kids accompanied by their mothers) and have been exposed and potentially mated to a breeding age male prior to export.

Female sheep genotyped 136AA/171RR have only been exposed to rams originating from a tuberculosis and brucellosis free province or territory or a tuberculosis and brucellosis free herd and have never resided in a flock that has had a confirmed case of classical scrapie during their residency. (strike out and initial section number6 of HA1944 health certificate if it does not apply)

Sheep or goats have not been exposed to contagious or infectious disease and have not commingled with sheep or goats of a lower health status or resided on the premises of a flock or herd of lower health status during the 60 days prior to export, and the exporter has been directed to maintain this status during transport to the United States.

Sheep have continually resided since birth in a brucellosis and tuberculosis free province or territory or in a brucellosis and tuberculosis free herd.

Goats have tested negative within 30 days of export to a brucellosis test (Fluorescence Polarizing Assay (FPA), Complement Fixation (CF), Indirect-Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (I-ELISA) or Buffered Plate Agglutination Test (BPAT)) at a CFIA approved laboratory.

Goats have tested negative within 30 days of export to a caudal fold tuberculin test using Mycobacterium.bovis Purified Protein Derivative.

Certification procedure

Within the 30 days before the planned export date, an accredited veterinarian must inspect each animal presented for export.

For sheep, the official ear tag is a tag approved by CFIA (or a tag deemed equivalent) under the Livestock Identification and Traceability (TRACE) Program.

For goats, the official ear tag is a tag pre-approved by CFIA under the Livestock Identification and Traceability (TRACE) Program.

All tags must be clean and readable. All numbers that appear on the ear tag must be recorded on the export certificate.

Note: while it is not a USDA requirement that the ear tag numbers be listed in ascending numerical order on the certificate, accredited veterinarians are encouraged to complete certificates in this manner to facilitate inspection at the U.S. port of entry and minimize delays.

In addition to the above official tag requirements, each animal is also identified with either a "C" brand or a "CAN" tattoo in the left ear or tail web.

Other means of permanent identification as required above may be used if requested in writing and approved before export by the National Import Export / Services of the USDA.

How to complete the Canadian health certificate (HA1944)

The accredited veterinarian must use the most recent version of the HA1944 export certificate.

In the column "Age (Months)(Estimated)," the actual age or an estimated age in months is indicated.

The accredited veterinarian must complete the export health certificate by entering all the necessary information with the exception of the number of animals in the shipment.

The "Reference number" is assigned by the CFIA district office.

The completed and signed health certificate will be submitted to a CFIA veterinary inspector to review and, if all requirements are met, it will be endorsed.

The accredited veterinarian or their technician must record the number of animals in the shipment the appropriate sections on the endorsed original health certificate, and initial the appropriate section.

The conveyance used to transport the animals must be cleaned and disinfected prior to loading the animals using a product and method effective against prions.

During loading, if animals must be removed from the shipment after the health certificate has been endorsed by the CFIA veterinary inspector, accredited veterinarians should not cross out any of these animals that are listed on the health certificate.

The routing of the shipment must be based on information provided by the exporter and must include the names of the main highways to be followed in Canada and the U.S. and the name of the location where the animals were loaded in Canada.

The official Canadian health certificate (HA1944) endorsed by a CFIA veterinary inspector and 2 copies of the certificate must accompany each export shipment.

Note: each truckload constitutes 1 shipment; therefore, a separate original health certificate must be issued for each vehicle.

Inspections at U.S. ports of entry

The animals must be presented at the U.S. port of entry by appointment.

The shipment must be accompanied by U.S. Veterinary Services Form 17-29 (Declaration of Importation) and the official Canadian health certificate (HA1944).

Animals will not be routinely off loaded for individual inspection at the ports of entry (POE). However, POE officials may, at their discretion, request off loading when there are welfare concerns or other circumstances that warrant such inspection.

Refer to module 5.1 Export to the U.S. – General for the list of land ports of entry designated as having the necessary inspection facilities for the entry of animals from Canada.

If exported by land, the USDA port veterinarian must be contacted at least 10 business days prior to planned arrival.

Additional requirements

Exporters are advised that individual states may have added import requirements.

References

Export certificate HA1944 and Owner's Declaration for export of sheep to the United States based on genotyping for scrapie resistance are available from your district veterinarian.

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