The process of registering a cattle operation for a premises ID number will change in several provinces as the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) updates its livestock tracking system’s traceback capability.
The CCIA on Friday described the update to its Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) database as a "significant" development, designed to help producers and food safety officials contain and eradicate outbreaks of animal disease.
The "high-level" initiative is meant to work within each province and territory, adapted to the province or territory’s position on managing the generation of premises ID numbers for livestock operators and for agribusinesses with co-mingling animals.
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As of Friday (Oct. 12), CCIA said, the premises registration process changes for CLTS users in British Columbia, the Yukon, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Livestock operators and agribusinesses keeping co-mingled animals in those regions will need to get a provincial/territorial premises identification number (PID) in order to register their premises in the CLTS database.
CLTS users in those regions will now have to contact their provincial premises registrar to get a provincially-assigned premises identification number.
CLTS users in Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut will see the premises registration process remain the same, CCIA said. The CLTS database will still generate PIDs for users in those regions, since they don’t have to provide a provincial/territorial PID by their province or territory.
The premises ID process also remains the same for users in Alberta, where users already must get a provincially-assigned PID from the province to register a premises in the CLTS database.
CCIA’s general manager Brian Caney said in a release the updates were made "with the understanding that a strong and credible livestock traceability system is essential to ensure Canada remains a leading producer and marketer of beef domestically and internationally."
