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Veterinary Access
Ontario Sheep Farmers was an active participant in the Veterinarians Act modernization in 2023 and continues to watch the development of regulations with interest.
While we appreciated the focus on updating the Act, our organization would like to acknowledge that there is no indication that the changes will improve access to veterinary care in rural and remote regions of Ontario.
As we work toward developing the regulations, here are OSF's recommendations:
- The regulations must ensure that farmers and others identified continue to retain the ability
to perform procedures, under exceptions and exemptions in future regulations (i.e.dehorning, castration, tail-docking, euthanasia, etc.) - Many activities on the farm that do not require the expertise or oversight of a veterinarian and would be done very well by an experienced specialist at a manageable cost in rural and northern Ontario.
- Prescription medications be obtained (dispensed and sold) through means such as Livestock
Medicine Outlets or pharmacies, not just by veterinarians. This ensures competitiveness, and
timely access to medicines for farmers in remote or underserviced regions of the province. - The ability to draw blood for testing to be added to the list of activities to be performed by
an RVT or a producer with the skills and training.
Veterinarian Shortage
The availability of small ruminant animal veterinary care in Ontario has reached a crisis point in Ontario. This deficit is continuously growing as large animal veterinarians retire without replacements. Many of our members have vets further than 100 kms away from their farm and in northern Ontario it is even further. Farmers also contact OSF monthly to share the news of clinics closing or ending services for small ruminant clients.
There is great concern among our members that emergency care will not be available when it is needed for livestock farmers as a result of the increasing veterinarian shortage and the wide geographic coverage area of most large animal clinics.
The government has announced the addition of 20 new veterinarians per year through a northern school that we hope will focus their career on large animals. The addition of this new school in the north and the money announced for graduates that choose to practice in rural Ontario is positive.
It is important to increase the number of veterinarians that practice in rural and northern Ontario to avoid overstretched practitioners without support. We also think it is important to increase the number of small ruminant specialists in Ontario. Our members have shared that even though they have a large animal vet, that vet predominantly serves cattle farms and does not have small ruminant expertise.
OSF recommends the provincial government increase the number of veterinary students in Ontario for those wanting to pursue large animal practices and increase incentives for small ruminant veterinarians to increase capacity across Ontario.
Access to Veterinary Drugs, Vaccines and Drenches
Sheep producers across Canada have signed on to the white paper authored by the major organizations representing Canada’s farmed animal producers that was prepared for the federal government in August 2024. This document states, “Due to various barriers detailed in this Whitepaper, Canadian farmers’ and veterinarians’ access to such tools is virtually at a crisis point, which is compounded by the fact that the number of currently approved and available tools is eroding at a significant rate. The result is that Canadian farmers and veterinarians are forced to rely on an increasingly limited number of tools – many of which are also important in human medicine. Not only does this have implications for animal and human health, it places Canada at a competitive disadvantage compared to other countries who do have access to such tools.”
There are several solutions outlined in the paper that have been presented to Health Canada. The relevant solution for the province is to address the barriers to accessing veterinary pharmaceuticals that disincentivize companies from marketing their products in Canada.
Agricultural commodities, including farmed animals, are particularly sensitive to input costs (eg. feed, fertilizer, fuel, veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health products, etc.). When it comes to veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other veterinary health products, the impact of rising input costs can be accentuated because Canadian farmers must compete with countries with lower animal health care costs. This creates a climate where farmers and veterinarians must continually balance costs against benefits; these realities impact how easily animal health companies can pass along their costs to farmers in Canada. Farmed animal populations define market size and sales potential for veterinary products.
Market size is thus a major determinant in the potential for ROI, and therefore, on the relative attractiveness of a market for product manufacturers. Livestock and poultry populations in other jurisdictions, such as the US and the EU, are considerably larger than those in Canada.
In recognition of the overarching societal benefits of defending antimicrobial efficacy, ‘Pull Incentives’ are a mechanism that would reward companies for the successful innovation, development, and commercialization of critical veterinary products. The advantage of such a model is that it provides guaranteed ROI for companies who successfully bring their products to market in Canada, assuring greater product availability, while also aligning with public health
objectives.
OSF recommends that the provincial government support the work of Health Canada by contributing to a Pull Incentive model for veterinary antimicrobials which provides guaranteed ROI for companies who successfully bring their products to market in Canada and increase the competitiveness of Ontario agriculture for the benefit of the provincial economy.
Our Commitment to Animal Care
Animal care is our top priority. Ontario sheep farmers are committed to providing the best care to ensure the health and welfare of their animals and follow the National Farm Animal Care Council’s Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Sheep. Everyone involved in the raising and processing of sheep for meat, dairy, and wool is required to adhere to good animal handling practices in accordance with industry guidelines, serving as stewards of the animals entrusted to their care.
AMU/AMR
Antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are issues affecting both human and animal health. Antimicrobials are still effective for treating, controlling and/or preventing disease. They have also been used to improve animal production or growth and help to protect animal welfare. However, every time they are used, there is the potential to select for resistant bugs, ultimately making the drugs less and less effective.
Read Ontario Sheep Farmers positions on AMU and AMR
List of medications that will requirement a veterinarian prescription as of December 1, 2018
Animal Diseases
On July 1, 2018, Regulation 567 under the Health Protection and Promotion Act will require that all livestock "for which a rabies vaccine licenced for use in Canada is available" shall be immunized against rabies with the exception being made only for livestock "that [are] accessible to only person or persons who are responsible for the care and control of such animal." This includes all dogs, cats, cattle, sheep and horses intended to come in contact with the general public. Farmers, farm workers, veterinarians, ultrasound and AI technicians, sheep shearers, and abattoir staff are all defined as "persons who are responsible for the care and control" and therefore only animals that are intended to come into contact with the general public are required to be vaccinated.
OSF believes the vaccination requirements would not apply to the vast majority of sheep in Ontario.
For more information about Regulation 567, please see the frequently asked questions document below.