Attention, stable owners!

Does your property have a Premises Identification number? It’s a vital tool for the protection of your horses should a disease or disaster strike you area.

The Premises ID program is a national service that is free to owners of agricultural properties, including horse owners. (Even if you have only a single horse living on your property, you qualify for participation in this program.)

Premises ID is a way of linking livestock to land locations and is critical to support disease control activities and for managing animal health emergencies. Having a premises identification number for your operation allows for traceability information to be accessed quickly for the protection of animal health 

Obtaining a Premises ID is free, and requires only a form. Once the information has been received and validated by the provincial or territorial government where the premises is located, a unique identification number is provided for this specific location.

Chief Veterinary Officer for New Brunswick, Dr. Nicole Wanamaker: 

"Here is my explanation and my purpose for having a Premises ID.   
 
The purpose of the Premises Identification (PID):
 
Is to link livestock and poultry to land locations or premises.  The PID system is important for planning, controlling and preventing the spread of an animal disease and can be used to notify animal owners of an impending emergency such as a flood or wild fire which could affect their animals.
 
If you own an animal and keep that animal at a premises (e.g. at your home farm), other than one where there is co-mingling of animals (e.g. stable) then you should register your animal(s) and land location.
 
If you keep your animal at a boarding facility (e.g. stable), then the stable owner is encouraged to register indicating that livestock (e.g. horses) are present at that location.
 
PID’s are not mandatory in New Brunswick, but in other provinces in Canada (e.g. Manitoba) they are.
 
PID applications (attached) can be filled out even if there is only one animal at a location because even one animal can receive and transmit disease or be affected by a fire or flood.
 
Information is kept confidential and protected by the Protection of Privacy provisions of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
 
The Information would only be used by authorized individuals (e.g. in Canadian Food Inspection agency) or possibly provincial government (EMO – Emergency Measures Operations) in cases of an emergency.
 
The best way to send in your application is by email (address in the application) for processing.  It is free.  If the application is emailed, then your New Brunswick PID number will be emailed back to you for safe keeping and stored in a data bank. If you decide to mail it the traditional way then a letter will be sent to you.
 
** Please remember in New Brunswick, we do not have any equine diseases that have to be reported to the Chief Veterinary Officer.  However,  as Chief Veterinary Officer I have passed on information to veterinarians who may have an involvement with horses and a concern for diseases (BUT this is only if I know about the disease).


Dr. Nicole Wanamaker
Chief Veterinary Officer for New Brunswick
Manager of  the Provincial Veterinary Field Service
506-432-2001
Email: [email protected]

I have the application attached below.  If you have any issues or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me."

Equestrian Canada - "What The Health" newsletter - March 2019  - Volume 2 Issue 1

PREMISE IDENTIFICATION TO THE RESCUE

By definition, a premises is any parcel of land on which animals, plants or food are grown, kept, assembled, or disposed of. All premises can register with their provincial government and receive a Premise Identification Number (PID) which is based on national standards and correlates with that piece of land or property. The PID correlates directly with the physical land, and not the owner of the land or the business associated with the land. The number is anonymous, and remains the same through any transfers of ownership. Protection of personal information is a primary objective of the program. As per the Health of Animals Act, personal information cannot be disclosed for any purposes except those prescribed in the Act.

Knowing where livestock are located and how to reach owners, operators, farmers, or emergency contacts is key to a rapid, accurate, and cost-effective response to animal health or emergency issues. Premise identification is a critical component in developing a national identification system.

All of this is fine in theory, but how has it performed in practice? Here are few instances where the PID system was called to play and performed:

· During the Red River Oil Spill in Alberta, PID was used to identify and notify farms that could be accessing the water for livestock or farm activities. The notice included the area affected, veterinary instructions and more.

· For fire impact zones around Slave Lake, Alberta, PID helped to notify farmers of evacuations procedures, to allow farmers to access animals that had to be left behind to provide food and water, to arrange evacuation of animals, and to notify farmers of re-entry procedure. The PID information was also used to notify farmers in potentially impacted communities so that they could make arrangements and prepare.

· When a train wreck with anhydrous ammonia occurred, the PID system was able to use email and phone data to notify registered farms of the threat, risks, and safety procedures.

It is important that all contact information that is provided when registering for a PID is the most up-to-date and accessible option possible (e.g. cell phone versus home phone).