IMPORTANT BREEDING INFORMATION FOR OUR CANADIAN CUSTOMERS

NEW CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) RESTRICTIONS
CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) has introduced new, stricter requirements for semen imported from the US into Canada. These requirements must be met in order for semen to clear customs. Many breeders in the US are either unaware of these regulation changes or will be unable to meet the requirements set forth by CFIA. We have been in contact with the Import Officers in centers across Canada and also with the USDA in order to gain knowledge of these requirements so that we can effectively serve our Canadian customers. We have extensive experience working with USDA in exporting semen to other countries and have a good working relationship with our local USDA office. After many discussions with CFIA and USDA Officers we feel confident that we will be able to meet your import needs.

As the Importer of the semen you will be required to obtain a PERMIT prior to ordering semen. This permit should be applied for once you have decided which stallion you wish to breed your mare to. You have the choice of applying for a single use permit (which costs $35.00) or a multiple use permit (which costs $60.00) We strongly urge you to purchase a multi-use permit. This will enable you to request a second shipment of semen if your mare delays ovulation or needs to be rebred for any reason. If you purchase a single use permit and your vet calls for a second dose of semen we would not be able to ship that semen without a second permit number. The multiple use permit may also be used for multiple stallions if you wish to breed your mares to more than one stallion located in the US. A permit application may be printed by clicking here.  A copy of this permit must be sent to us so that we can include a copy with the semen shipment.

As the Exporter of the semen it will now be necessary for us to have a health certificate issued for the stallion whose semen is being exported. Unfortunately, the new requirements mandate that for fresh cooled transported semen the health certificate must be signed by both our veterinarian and a USDA veterinarian on the day that the stallion is collected. This will require us to obtain courier service to take the health certificate to our USDA office which is unfortunately quite a distance from us. The USDA fee for the Health Certificate and the courier fee will be the responsibility of the mare owner/importer. We will be charging a flat fee of $400.00 for each Canadian shipment of semen. This fee will cover the collection fee, Fed Ex overnight freight fee, USDA Health Certificate fee, our veterinarian’s examination fee, as well as the courier fee to have the paperwork transported to the USDA office for signature and USDA Seal. The original signed and sealed Health Certificate (with your permit number) must accompany the shipment of semen in order to clear customs.

For businesses (such as veterinary offices and breeding farms) which are importing semen, it is necessary for you to obtain in advance a RM account number (this is an import number which is required by Revenue Canada). You may obtain this number by contacting Revenue Canada at 1-800-959-5525. You may also visit their website at www.cra.gc.ca to learn more about these regulations. Shipments will be held at customs if a RM account number is not included with the Fed Ex shipping invoice. Please be sure to check with your veterinarian in advance to make sure they comply with this regulation if we are shipping directly to their office. If you are doing business under a farm name this regulation will also apply to you. By speaking to an official at Revenue Canada and obtaining this number in advance, unnecessary delays at the Border will therefore be avoided.

Due to the time constraints we will face by having our vet in to sign the health certificate and driving it to the USDA office, it will be necessary for your vet to call to order semen absolutely no later than 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) or preferably the evening prior to collection and shipment.

In order for you to obtain further information from your local Import Officer, we have attached a list of CFIA Import Contracts for each region of Canada. Please click here for that list.

We are a USDA approved quarantine farm and do have frozen semen available (for many stallions) which was collected during quarantine and therefore meets USDA standards for export and Canada’s standards for import. If you would like to utilize frozen semen rather than fresh cooled semen this could be shipped to your vet in advance. Unfortunately frozen semen would still require a permit obtained by you as well as a health certificate from USDA and our vet which we would obtain on your behalf. If you are interested in frozen semen, please talk to us for further pricing details.

We regret the extra expense that these new regulations by CFIA will inflict on our customers as well as the extra paperwork, travel time, etc. it will inflict on our staff. We do, however, understand that CFIA has established these new regulations in order to protect mare owners in Canada from the exposure to CEM and we respect their desire to protect their citizens. We are ready to work with CFIA and USDA officials to make each shipment from us to Canada smooth, stress free and efficient.

As a courtesy to our customers, we have voluntarily tested each of our stallions for both CEM and EVA and will be happy to provide negative test results to you or your veterinarian. We will also be including the negative CEM test results with our shipment of semen to you in order to help expedite processing at Customs.

It is important to us to be able to provide you with the customer service you have come to expect from us and we hope that this brief outline of CFIA regulation changes as well as Revenue Canada regulations will help you better understand what is necessary in order for us to provide semen to you. If you have any questions, please feel to either call us at (410) 754-9566 or to email us at harrispaints@dishmail.net

We look forward to the opportunity to do business with you this year.
Thank you.

Tim & Cindy Harris - Harris Paints

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