Calling all Manitoba vets and vet techs! Provincial veterinarians are invited to comment on Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s (PMRA) review and public consultation on the use of strychnine and 1080 that is now underway. Click here to visit the PMRA consultation page to participate. Closing date is November 29, 2022.

You may recall that in February 2021 the CVMA then President. Dr. Enid Stiles wrote to the Minister for Health Canada regarding CVMA concern that “humaneness” had not been considered in the Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) review of strychnine and 1080 as approved pesticides to kill large predators such as wolves. The products must be federally approved by PMRA for use; however, the operationalization of the products is under provincial jurisdiction. The use of these products runs counter to several CVMA positions as well as those of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the World Organisation for Animal Health due to the intense and prolonged suffering caused in both target and non-target species.

Later that year, in December 2021, the CVMA Immediate Past-President, Dr. Louis Kwantes, presented the concern to the all-party Animal Welfare Caucus, (led by N. Erskine Smith) once again citing our rationale for calling for a national ban on the use of these compounds.

Health Canada/PMRA is now undertaking another review and public consultation of the product but, despite the CVMA’s efforts, continues to exclude any consideration of the suffering caused by these products in its submission.

The MVMA has submitted an organizational comment on the Health Canada/PMRA consultation page and hope that MVMA members will voice their concerns as well.

The CVMA and MVMA are calling on members to provide individual comments on the need for PMRA to consider the unacceptable suffering these products cause in target and non-target species in their review via the PMRA consultation page.

We ask that you urge Health Canada/PMRA to consult with subject matter experts and other veterinarians who have witnessed strychnine poisoning regarding the severe suffering induced by these products and join the CVMA in calling for a national ban.

Please consider the submission below by subject matter expert Dr. Nigel Caulkett (reprinted with permission):

I am a professor of veterinary anesthesiology who has worked in the field of wildlife and farm animal welfare for 30 years. I am a clinician/researcher. Animal welfare is rarely black and white, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is the use of strychnine and monofluroacetate to kill predators. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the Canadian Council on Animal Care, and many other governing bodies have statements and guidelines against the use of these agents. Death from these agents is incredibly inhumane. I have treated strychnine intoxication in dogs on several occasions. The look in their eyes as they convulse is one of pure terror. It is an horrific way to die. As a veterinary anesthesiologist I deal with stressful situations and must maintain composure to do my job. I recall an occasion with a strychnine patient when I had serious difficulty placing an IV to deliver pentobarbital in order to terminate the severe convulsions. This was because I was shaking uncontrollably at witnessing the extreme distress of the dog. The only human comparison is a death from nerve agent intoxication. A war crime. The fact that an agency can deliberately administer these agents to kill wolves, bears, coyotes, etc. is disgusting and can never be justified. Your document contains nothing regarding the animal welfare cost of using these agents for predator control; this omission is shocking, as the use of these agents for this purpose should never be approved on welfare grounds alone. The use of these agents in Alberta is an horrific legacy of animal cruelty. Predator control and caribou recovery projects take place across Canada without the use of these intoxicants. Health Canada needs to take the high road and stop enabling this practice immediately. If you need more evidence of the inhumane nature of these agents talk to ANY veterinarian who has dealt with strychnine intoxication. 

The Animal Health Emergency Management (AHEM) project has recently released its new resource, Emergency Response Procedures for NON-DISEASE RELATED EMERGENCIES.

The 10-page document was developed to provide producers and animal caregivers with guidance on preparing for and responding to:

• structure fires and wildfires
• flooding
• power grid and utilities failures
• severe drought, and
• livestock vehicle transport accidents.

You can view, download, and print the new resource by visiting www.animalhealth.ca/resources. 

The MVMA Council wants membership to be advised that the provincial Apiarist, Rhéal Lafrenière, has retired and that bee related questions can be sent to Dr. Sarah Wood, WCVM Research Chair in Pollinator Health at sarah.wood@usask.ca  | Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary Pathology.

According to the 2021 study of ‘Farmer Mental Health in Canadian’ done by the University of Guelph; 1 in 4 Canadian Farmers felt that their life was not worth living, wished they were dead, or thought of taking their own life in the last 12 months.

The Do More Agriculture Foundation champions mental health and well-being for Canadian agriculture producers. Executive Director Megz Reynolds says “The needle has moved regarding mental health in agriculture it still has a long way to go before we are no longer loosing community member’s to death by suicide. It is on each and everyone of us to work together to end the stigma surrounding mental health and change the culture, this starts with self education and by joining the conversation.”

AHEM is pleased to partner The Do More Agriculture Foundation in delivering  a 1-hour live virtual webinar focused on mental health in agriculture.

When: November 15th, repeated on January 17 and March 21

Time: 9 AM PST/10 AM MST/11 AM CST/1 PM AST/1:30 PM NST

The workshop, delivered by Megz Reynolds, is designed to introduce participants to mental health in agriculture, highlight how to support ourselves and others, the importance of refilling our own cups and how to have conversations about mental health. This will be a “hands on” workshop with group exercises to engage participants and practice having conversations.

Visit www.animalhealth.ca/workshops today to register for the date that works best for you. There is no cost to attend!

The Health Product Compliance Directorate (HPCD) of the Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB) within Health Canada carries out proactive risk management projects (PRMP) to verify and promote compliance, as well as gather information regarding industry’s compliance against specific regulatory requirements. These projects complement Health Canada’s routine inspection programs and reactive market surveillance activities.

As a compliance promotion initiative, we would like to invite all health care professionals to attend a WebEx webinar entitled: Raising Awareness – Avoiding Unauthorized Health Products Online (Information Session for Health Care Professionals). This is a save the date and invitation to register for webinars occurring in November 2022. Feel free to share this invitation with members of your college/association and other health care professionals, as applicable.

What will be discussed?

This webinar is intended to increase awareness of the prevalence of unauthorized and/or adulterated health products in the online market place. This webinar will also provide resources to health care professionals in order to guide patients to legitimate sources of compliant health products. Below is a list of the various topics that will be covered in the webinar:

1. Regulatory requirements for importation of health products
2. Risks of buying health products online
3. Commercial importation and importing health products as a healthcare practitioner
4. Information on Health Canada’s online tools and programs (reporting of adverse drug reaction and complaints, public advisory on recalls and safety alerts)

When will these take place?

We will host five (5) sessions via WebEx:

• November 8, 2022 at 2-3pm EST (English session)
• November 9, 2022 at 11am-12pm EST (French session)
• November 15, 2022 at 11am-12pm EST (English session)
• November 24, 2022 at 2-3pm EST (English session)
• November 29, 2022 at 1-2pm EST (French session)

How to register and access the webinar?

Use the following link https://canada.webex.com/webappng/sites/canada/webinar/webinarSeries/register/8ed3ac0089ca4702bcbd6a8039ab7d79 to register for the session of your choice by November 4, 2022. To complete the registration, your name and e-mail address will be required.

Shortly after your registration is confirmed, WebEx will send the link to the session to the email address provided. You will be re-directed to download WebEx Meetings when you click on the link.

To avoid any technical issues, ensure WebEx Meetings is downloaded prior to the start of the session. Please join the webinar 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time using the online link provided to allow for the use of the chat function during the session. For all technical issues, please contact the WebEx Help Line at 1-866-662-0663.

Privacy Notice

The personal information you provide to Health Canada will be collected by the Strategic Operations Unit and the Border Program within ROEB under the authority of the Department of Health Act s.4(2) and is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.

We require your contact information (name and e-mail) to register you to the WebEx webinar and to share relevant materials including a handout and a satisfaction survey following the webinar. If you choose not to provide the contact information, you will not be able to enrol into the webinar.

You have the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you feel that your personal information has been handled improperly. For more information about these rights, or about how we handle your personal information, please refer to the personal information bank (PIB) of Outreach Activities PSU 938 or contact the Strategic Operations Unit at prmp-pgpr@hc-sc.gc.ca.

The 2022 Practice Owners Economic Surveys are Now Available

To access a survey, click the following link: Manitoba

Complete the survey for a chance to win a $500 gift card or a complimentary registration to the 2023 CVMA Annual Convention in Quebec City

The Atlantic Veterinary College (University of Prince Edward Island) and the Ontario Vet College (University of Guelph) are conducting a study to enhance support for positive mental health in early-career veterinarians. The researchers are specifically interested in the transition period between graduation from veterinary school and the first few years of working as a veterinary practitioner. They will conduct one-on-one interviews with veterinarians within 15 years of graduation to inform the development of a well-being training tool that can be used by veterinarians to better navigate the first few years in practice. View the following link for the eligibility questionnaire: https://uoguelph.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aibUwdOMX6MMZrU 

The MVMA does not endorse specific products or companies, however we are sharing this information as it is an important issue. Until now, vaccine for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease has been only been available by emergency drug release. Vaccine is now available through WDDC (141053) and CDMV (128128).

Veterinary clinics and related businesses from across Western Canada are welcome to participate in the WCVM Virtual Career Fair on Tuesday, September 13 or Wednesday, September 14 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. CST.  For more information and to register for one of the evenings, please visit: https://wcvm.usask.ca/events/2022/09/2022-wcvm-career-fair.php

Do you like helping shelter pets?  Animal Services needs spay/neuter help for their dogs!  The Agency schedules long term and is very flexible.  If your clinic can help, please email animalservicesagency@winnipeg.ca

Learn more about Winnipeg Animal Services by visiting winnipeg.ca or visiting their social media account.