Granting sheep and goats a free from Maedi-Visna and CAE health category
View connections →The Finnish Food Authority may grant sheep and goats a health status category demonstrating freedom from maedi-visna and CAE upon application.
Published by: Finnish Food Authority · Government organisation
Description language: English
Coverage: Finland, excluding Åland
About this service
Description
The Finnish Food Authority may, upon application, grant sheep and goats a health status category demonstrating freedom from Maedi-Visna and CAE. If you keep sheep or goats, you may join the voluntary maedi-visna and CAE health monitoring programme by submitting a written notification to the Finnish Food Authority. The purpose of the health monitoring programme is to monitor the occurrences of the diseases in sheep and goats as well as to prevent these virus diseases from spreading, for example, in connection to animal transfers. After joining, you are committed to ensuring that the terms and conditions of the programme are followed. The F Agency grants your animal premises a health category (1–3) based on tests and how the health monitoring is exercised. When classifying new animal premises, the decision is also based on the health category of the site the animals came from. A site is usually classified in category 2 after the first inspection visit and test results. The health category indicates the likelihood of an occurrence of the monitored contagious animal disease at your site. Animal premises that are declared free from the diseases are classified in health category 1. Maedi-Visna and CAE are typically asymptomatic. The symptoms develop slowly and are often detectable only after 4 to 5 years. The animal’s general health declines and respiration becomes more laboured, especially when under strain. When advanced, the symptoms include coughing, nasal dripping and the animal will breath with its neck extended. A nervous version of the disease exists, where the initial symptoms are tripping and balance disturbances in the hind legs, which eventually leads to a paralysis of the hind legs and death. Once infected, the animal will remain a disease carrier and keep spreading the disease for the rest of its life.
How to use it
1. Learn about Maedi-Visna and CAE and the requirements of their health monitoring programme (instructions for the voluntary health monitoring of Maedi-Visna and CAE as an attachment to the entry form). 2. Fill out the entry form as thoroughly as you can and submit the form to the Finnish Food Authority. 3. Exercising the health monitoring is specific to each animal premises. the main premise for keeping sheep or goats, which has an animal shelter for winter, must be listed for health monitoring. Pastureland that is only used during summer does not need to be listed. Premises under the same premise ID are mainly classified in the same health category. However, you can keep animals apart in separate sites, in which case they can also be of different categories. In such cases, the different sites must be listed separately for health monitoring. 4. Ensure that you are constantly following the terms and conditions of the health monitoring programme.