Ag ministers up for mandatory livestock tracking

With one major exception, Canada's federal and provincial agriculture ministers have committed to have a mandatory, nationwide traceability system for livestock and poultry in place by 2011.

Coming out of their meeting this week at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., the ministers on Friday jointly described such a system as "critical for managing animal health and food safety issues, as well as expanding market access and driving efficiencies."

But the section of their joint statement dealing with their commitments to national livestock traceability included an asterisk and a footnote: "With the exception of Saskatchewan."

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