CALGARY, Alta. — The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) recently took part in a strategic planning session to prepare the livestock industry to respond to foreign animal disease emergencies.

Sponsored by the Canadian Animal Health Coalition, the session aimed to close the gap between industry and various levels of government, which already have emergency plans in place.

“The Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in Europe has given ample warning of the necessity of being prepared,” says the CCA. “The planning session focused and defined the needs of industry during an outbreak.”

The next step in the planning process will be finalizing the strategy for what producers must do to aid in the response to an animal health emergency. While the role truckers would play was not clearly defined as of yet, the CCA has always maintained that carriers will be key partners in containing future outbreaks.