Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: BSE and FMD classifications, animal welfare highlight OIE meeting

TSCRA Daily News Update, June 6, 2008

BSE and FMD classifications, animal welfare highlight OIE meeting

Approximately 600 participants representing the 172 World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) member countries and territories took part in the 76th Annual General Session of the OIE last week in Paris.

Committee approval was granted to the 2008 list of countries or zones that had applied for an official OIE recognition of their sanitary status concerning one or several of four priority diseases: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot and mouth disease (FMD), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), and rinderpest.

This year, the OIE recognized a record number of sanitary statuses on BSE. Following the classification of 30 member nations last week, the OIE now recognizes 41 members as having a "controlled risk" or a "negligible risk" status. (The United States was granted OIE "controlled risk" status in May 2007.) Of particular note, Mexico and the European Union obtained "controlled risk" status at the meeting.

Five members or zones of members were newly recognized as free of FMD, with or without vaccination. Effective May 24, 2008, Brazil regained "FMD free zone with vaccination" status in Zone 1 (the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Tocantins) and Zone 2 (the states of Distrito Federal, Goias, MatoGrosso, Parana, Sao Paulo). Also of note, the United Kingdom was recognized to have regained its "FMD-free status without vaccination" effective February 19, 2008.

The OIE also granted 13 new national free statuses on rinderpest.

Significant standards were also adopted in the area of animal welfare, including a new scientific definition of animal welfare.

Delegates also discussed the implication of private standards in international trade of animals and animal products as well as the issue of animal health and animal welfare standards established unilaterally by private companies, without direct involvement by governments.

NCBA continues to closely monitor OIE's activities regarding animal welfare, and will provide more details as they become available.