A couple of years after it passed legislation enabling it to
tackle outbreaks of highly-contagious diseases, the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is saying that it will soon post a list of
those diseases and invite public comment.
The main thing that has been done so far is the appointment
of a chief veterinary officer with power to move swiftly to contain an outbreak
of a foreign animal disease, such as hoof and mouth disease in livestock or
avian influenza in poultry.
The ministry’s new regulations will force prompt reporting
of an outbreak and will outline compensation for farmers, designed to offset
any hesitation they might have about reporting a disease in their herd or
flock.
The federal government already has the legislative power to
do what the province is proposing. It has found there is a difficult line to
walk on compensation – enough to encourage reporting, but not so much that
farmers are happy to get a disease because the compensation is generous.
