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Import conditions for horses from the European Union Member States for permanent stay in Canada: Breeding horses, racing horses, horses for riding and pleasure, horses for non-competitive entertainment, and Andalusian horses

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TAHD-DSAT-IE-2011-5-4

Amendments

Note

Canada does not recognize Germany to be free from Glanders anymore. Please refer to the specific section for this disease, below.

The import conditions outlined in this document also apply to the following domestic equids:

On this page

Documentation instructions

Conditions of import

Residency

The residency of the horse(s) being presented for importation must be certified as follows:

Disease-free status

The disease-free status of any country or zone must be confirmed:

African horse sickness

The horse(s) must be certified against African horse sickness (AHS) as follows:

and

Dourine

The horse(s) must be certified against Dourine as follows:

and

Glanders

The horse(s) must be certified against Glanders as follows:

For all Member States (except Germany):

and

For Germany, the following must be certified:

During post-entry quarantine in Canada, the horses must be retested for Glanders using a complement fixation test negative at ⅕ or, where applicable, an alternate test acceptable to CFIA.

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis

The horse(s) must be certified against Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) as follows:

and

Equine piroplasmosis

The horse(s) must be certified for Equine piroplasmosis (EP) as follows:

and

Equine infectious anemia

The horse(s) must be certified against equine infectious anemia (EIA) as follows:

and

Contagious equine metritis

Identification requirements

The horse(s) must be identified by:

and

Pre-export isolation

Pre-export isolation is required as follows:

The required pre-export isolation is not a quarantine. Minimum requirements for pre-export isolation are as follows:

Additional certification

Post-entry import conditions

A report that the facility has been approved must have been issued by the CFIA. No animal can be removed from the post-entry quarantine until duly discharged by an inspector who is designated under the Health of Animals Act. On completion of quarantine with negative results on all tests, the animals will be released to the importer and/or owner.

If the horse(s) is/are imported as part of a larger shipment of horses with multiple owners/importers it/they will receive the same health status as the other animals in the shipment and all animals in the shipment must receive negative test results on all required serological post-entry tests before being released from post-entry quarantine by the CFIA. This could result in an extended post-entry quarantine with associated additional costs.

Appendix – Contagious equine metritis conditions

Stallions over 2 years of age

The horse(s) must be certified as free from contagious equine metritis (CEM) as follows:

and

Note:

The stallions must not have been bred by natural breeding nor collected for the purpose of artificial insemination during the 30 days preceding export, and no manipulation and/or treatment of the reproductive tract (except swab collection) was performed during that time.

If the animal is undergoing any form of antibiotic treatment, swabbing for culture must not commence until a minimum of 21 days post treatment.

For a stallion that had a positive result in a previous test for CEM

and

and

During post-entry quarantine in Canada

A – Sampling of the stallion

The stallion must be tested by culture. 1 set of 3 swabs must be collected from the:

  1. prepuce (sheath)
  2. fossa glandis (same as urethral fossa), including the diverticulum (same as urethral sinus) and
  3. terminal (distal) end of the urethra

The specimens must be refrigerated (not frozen) during transport and cultured for CEM within 48 hours of collection. They must be cultured for at least 10 days, and negative culture results must be obtained.

Upon receipt of negative results on the swabs collected above, each stallion must be mated by natural service to 2 test mares that have been previously tested by culture and serology (CF test). See section B below.

B – Sampling of the test mares before mating with the imported stallion

Before the importation of the stallion, 2 test mares must be placed into the CFIA pre-approved post-entry quarantine facility and submitted to the following testing:

  1. 1. Culture: 3 sets of specimens (swabs) must be collected on each test mare :

    First set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b.:

    1. clitoral fossa and
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

    Second set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b.:

    1. clitoral fossa and
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

    Third set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a., b. and c.:

    1. clitoral fossa
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab) and
    3. cervix or endometrium (the endometrial swab can only be taken effectively and safely if the mare is in estrus, otherwise the swab is taken from the distal cervical canal)

    The 3 sets of swabs must be taken on 3 separate days, for each mare, with a minimum of 3 days between each set of swabs and a minimum of 10 days for all 3 sets to be completed.

    The specimens must be cultured for at least 10 days, and negative results must be obtained.

  2. 2. Serology: During the period in which swabs are being collected, blood samples must be taken, and a CF test for CEM performed with negative results.

Note:

The 2 test mares must be placed into the CFIA pre-approved post-entry quarantine facility and tested for CEM, with negative results, before the importation of the stallion. The importer/owner must make the necessary arrangements ahead of time.

C – Sampling of the test mares after mating with the imported stallion

The 2 test mares must be mated with the imported stallion and submitted to the following testing:

  1. 1. Culture: Starting a minimum of 3 days after mating to the stallion, 3 sets of specimens (swabs) must be collected on each test mare :

    First set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b.:

    1. clitoral fossa and
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

    Second set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b.:

    1. clitoral fossa and
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

    Third set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a., b. and c.:

    1. clitoral fossa
    2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab) and
    3. cervix or endometrium (the endometrial swab can only be taken effectively and safely if the mare is in estrus, otherwise the swab is taken from the distal cervical canal)

    The 3 sets of swabs must be taken on 3 separate days, for each mare, with a minimum of 3 days between each set of swabs and a minimum of 10 days for all 3 sets to be completed.

    The specimens must be cultured for at least 10 days, and negative results must be obtained.

  2. 2. Serology: Blood samples must be taken from the test mares a minimum of 21 days and a maximum of 30 days post mating, and a CF test for CEM performed with negative results.

Note:

Any mares for use as teaser mares must undergo the same testing as the mated test mares with negative results. They must also be placed in the post-entry quarantine.

D – Treatment of the stallion and test mares

Following the mating with the 2 test mares and the confirmation that all culture and serological test results from both test mares (and teaser mares, if applicable) are negative, the stallion, the test mares (and the teaser mare(s), if applicable) must be treated as follows:

Note:

Any mares for use as teaser mares must undergo the same treatment as the 2 test mares.

Mares over 2 years of age

The horse(s) must be certified as free from CEM as follows:

and

The specimens must have been refrigerated (not frozen) during transport and cultured for CEM within 48 hours of collection in a laboratory approved by the National Veterinary Service of the country of origin. They must be cultured for at least 7 days (starting when the samples are cultured to laboratory media and not when the samples are taken), after which, negative culture results must have been obtained.

An official copy of the laboratory report must be attached to the export certificate.

Note:

The mares must not have been bred by natural breeding nor artificial insemination during the 30 days preceding export and no manipulation and/or treatment of the reproductive tract (except swab collection) was performed during that time.

If the animal is undergoing any form of antibiotic treatment, swabbing for culture must not commence until a minimum of 21 days post treatment.

and

either

or

Note:

The above-mentioned serology must be performed in addition to the swabbing.

For a mare that had a positive result in a previous test for CEM

and

During post-entry quarantine in Canada

A – Sampling of the mare

The mare must be tested by culture. 3 sets of specimens (swabs) must be collected:

First set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b.:

  1. clitoral fossa and
  2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

Second set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a. and b. :

  1. clitoral fossa and
  2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab)

Third set – Swabbing the following mucosal surfaces taking a different swab for a., b. and c.:

  1. clitoral fossa
  2. clitoral lateral and medial sinus combined (1 swab) and
  3. cervix or endometrium (the endometrial swab can only be taken effectively and safely if the mare is in estrus, otherwise the swab is taken from the distal cervical canal)

For pregnant mares, only a. and b. apply.

The 3 sets of swabs must be taken on 3 separate days, with a minimum of 3 days between each set of swabs and a minimum of 10 days for all 3 sets to be completed.

Only mild soap and warm water must be used, as necessary, to remove excess organic debris of the external genitalia, during the preparation of swab collection for CEM testing in post-entry quarantine.

The specimens must be refrigerated (not frozen) during transport and cultured for CEM within 48 hours of collection. They must be cultured for at least 10 days, and negative results must be obtained.

B – Treatment of the mare

Following collection of all specimens and negative test results, any organic debris must be manually removed from the clitoral sinuses of each mare. The sinuses must then be flushed with a ceruminolytic agent to ensure that the sinuses have been cleaned and that no debris was left in the sinuses.

and

For 5 consecutive days, the external genitalia and vaginal vestibule, including the clitoral fossa and sinuses, must be thoroughly cleaned and washed (with warm water and a mild detergent) to eliminate all organic and extraneous debris. After the cleaning and washing procedure, on each of the 5 consecutive days, the clitoral fossa and sinuses must be filled, and the external genitalia and vaginal vestibule must be coated with an antibiotic ointment that is effective against the CEM organism (for example: 0.2% nitrofurazone).

Foals under 2 years of age

Horses under 2 years of age must be certified as follows:

and

Geldings

No CEM import requirements.

Andalusian horses from Spain (stallions over 2 years of age) – Under review

The horse(s) must be certified as free from contagious equine metritis (CEM) as follows:

and

These specimens must have been taken on 3 separate days with a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 8 days between the 3 sets of swabs within 30 days of the date of export to Canada.

The specimens must have been refrigerated (not frozen) during transport and cultured for CEM within 48 hours of collection in a laboratory approved by the National Veterinary Service of the country of origin. They must be cultured for at least 7 days (starting when the samples are cultured to laboratory media and not when the samples are taken), after which, negative culture results must have been obtained.

An official copy of the laboratory report must be attached to the export certificate.

Note:

The stallions must have never been bred by natural breeding nor collected for the purpose of artificial insemination.

No manipulation and/or treatment of the reproductive tract (except swab collection) was performed during the 30 days preceding export to Canada.

Note:

If the animal is undergoing any form of antibiotic treatment, swabbing for culture must not commence until a minimum of 21 days post treatment.

and

No post-entry CEM testing is required.

Andalusian horses from Spain (mares over 2 years of age): under review

The horse(s) must be certified as free from CEM as follows:

and

Note:

The mares must have never been bred by natural breeding or artificial insemination.

No manipulation and/or treatment of the reproductive tract (except swab collection) was performed during the 30 days preceding export to Canada.

Note:

If the animal is undergoing any form of antibiotic treatment, swabbing for culture must not commence until a minimum of 21 days post treatment.

and

No post-entry CEM testing is required.

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