The Canadian federal government has awarded contracts to vaccine makers in a step toward the creation of a long-awaited foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Biogénesis Bagó SA will supply vaccines and develop the bank, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on Tuesday. Public Services and Procurement Canada awarded the contract on the CFIA’s behalf following a “competitive procurement process.”

The Liberal government promised a foot-and-mouth vaccine bank in its 2023 budget following years of advocacy from agricultural groups. Budget 2023 committed $57.5 million over five years, with $5.6 million ongoing, to the CFIA to establish an FMD vaccine bank for Canada, and to further develop FMD response plans.

“The Canadian beef industry breathed a collective sigh of relief to learn a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank is on the horizon,” Alberta Beef Producers said in a report on its website after the announcement.

It’s expected an outbreak of the disease, which affects cloven-hooved animals like cattle, pigs, sheep and deer, would likely close borders to exports of Canadian meat and animals.

In a January webinar, Alberta Beef Producers extension lead Karen Schmid estimated an outbreak could cost the Canadian livestock sector around $65 billion.

“Today’s announcement is a welcome and pivotal step towards enhancing existing industry defenses, offering producers another critical tool to minimize the impact and return Canada back to ‘FMD-free’ status in the event of an outbreak. This is vital for protecting animal health and farm sustainability, contributing to a safe, reliable, and consistent food supply for Canadians,” stated David Wiens, President of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Source: Farmtario / Geralyn Wichers