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P-42, r. 9 - Artificial Insemination of Cattle Regulation

Table of contents

Alphanumeric	Title
P-42	Animal Health Protection Act

Full text

Updated to 1 October 2024

This document has official status.

chapter P-42, r. 9

Artificial Insemination of Cattle Regulation

ANIMAL HEALTH PROTECTION — ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION OF CATTLE

Animal Health Protection Act

(chapter P-42, s. 28).

P-42

04April 011 2016

The fees prescribed in the Regulation have been indexed pursuant to the notice published in Part 1 (French) of the Gazette officielle du Québec of 6 April 2024, page 209. (s. 2) (Effect from 1 April 2024)

DIVISION I

CONDITIONS FOR ISSUING AND RENEWING PERMITS

1. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall issue permits in the following categories:

(1) semen collection permit;

(2) general insemination permit;

(3) semen possession permit;

(4) (paragraph replaced);

(5) (paragraph replaced).

O.C. 690-88, s. 1; O.C. 151-90, s. 1; O.C. 1620-95, s. 1.

1.1. An owner or custodian of animals who carries out the artificial insemination of his own animals or of those of which he has permanent custody shall be exempt from the obligation to hold a general insemination permit.

O.C. 1620-95, s. 2.

2. Any person required to hold a permit under section 24 of the Animal Health Protection Act (chapter P-42) shall apply to the Minister for a permit for each establishment he intends to operate under his permit.

He shall attach to his application the fee for the permit in the form of a postal money order or cheque to the order of the Minister of Finance.

The permit fees are as follows:

(1) for a semen collection permit: $4,184;

(2) for a general insemination permit: $110;

(3) for a semen possession permit: $62;

(4) (subparagraph replaced);

(5) (subparagraph replaced).

For the purposes of this section, “establishment” includes a vehicle in the case of an application for a semen possession permit authorizing delivery.

O.C. 690-88, s. 2; O.C. 151-90, s. 2; O.C. 1771-92 s. 1; O.C. 1620-95, s. 3.

2.1. The permit fees provided for in section 2 shall be indexed on 1 April of each year according to the rate of increase in the general Consumer Price Index for Canada for the period ending on 30 September of the preceding year, as determined by Statistics Canada. The fees shall be reduced to the nearest dollar where they contain a fraction of a dollar less than $0.50; they shall be increased to the nearest dollar where they contain a fraction of a dollar greater than $0.50.

The Minister shall inform the public, through the Gazette officielle du Québec or by such other means as he considers appropriate, of the indexing calculated under this section.

O.C. 1771-92, s. 2; O.C. 1620-95, s. 4.

3. A person who applies for a General Insemination Permit shall:

(1) know the anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system of cattle, possess the skills required to carry out an act of artificial insemination and know the sanitary conditions therefor;

(2) know the legislative and regulatory provisions applicable in Québec in that matter;

(3) be able to deal with the health risks inherent in visiting multiple livestock outfits; and

(4) master the techniques for the conservation of semen and for pedigree control.

Those qualifications shall be verified by means of an examination prepared by the Minister and held prior to the issue of the permit. To pass that examination, a candidate must obtain the pass mark for each category of aptitudes established in the first paragraph.

O.C. 690-88, s. 3; O.C. 726-94, s. 1; O.C. 1620-95, s. 5.

3.1. Any person referred to in section 3 shall attach to his application a certificate to the effect that he is authorized by a breeders’ association, formed under the Livestock Pedigree Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. 8 (4th Suppl.)), to carry out the insemination of purebred cattle or of cattle identified in the National Identification Program administered by such breeders’ association.

O.C. 1620-95, s. 5.

4. The permit shall contain the following particulars:

(1) the name and address of the holder;

(2) the permit number;

(3) the date it comes into effect and the date of expiry;

(4) the establishment for which it is delivered, if applicable;

(5) the conditions, restrictions or prohibitions determined by the Minister under section 55.28 of the Act.

O.C. 690-88, s. 4.

5. A permit holder who intends to renew his permit shall meet the following conditions:

(1) he shall apply to the Minister at least 90 days before the date of expiry of his permit;

(2) he shall pay the amount prescribed in section 2 for the renewal fee of the permit by postal money order or cheque to the order of the Minister of Finance;

(3) paragraph revoked.

O.C. 690-88, s. 5; O.C. 1620-95, s. 6.

5.1. An application for a permit and an application for renewal of a permit shall be made in writing and shall contain the following information:

(1) the applicant’s name, address and telephone number and, where applicable, his fax number; the same information shall be given by the applicant’s representative, where applicable;

(2) where applicable, the applicant’s business number in the enterprise register registered under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (chapter P-44.1);

(3) the name under which the establishment or the vehicle is operated;

(4) the address of the establishment or, in the case of a vehicle, the make, model, year and registration number;

(5) the nature and class of the permit applied for;

(6) the applicant’s signature or the signature of the applicant’s duly authorized representative.

O.C. 1620-95, s. 7.

6. Animals of species other than cattle are not subject to Division III of the Act.

O.C. 690-88, s. 6.

DIVISION II

SEMEN COLLECTION PERMIT

§ 1. — Operation and organization of an establishment

7. A semen collection permit authorizes its holder to collect semen from cattle, keep it in his possession and deliver it.

O.C. 690-88, s. 7; O.C. 1620-95, s. 8.

8. A permit holder may not, on the premises where he carries out the activities covered by section 7, carry on other operations than those related to such activities.

O.C. 690-88, s. 8.

9. A permit holder shall have the following separate facilities in order to carry out the activities covered by section 7:

(1) a barn for bulls in service, in a proving program or awaiting program results;

(2) a quarantine area for bulls upon arrival;

(3) an isolation area for sick bulls or bulls suspected of illness;

(4) a room for the collection of semen;

(5) a laboratory for the conditioning of semen;

(6) a room for the conservation of semen;

(7) office space;

(8) for employees who come into contact with bulls, a room containing:

(a) a sink;

(b) a shower;

(d) a locker for each employee;

(e) a container for soiled clothes;

(9) for other employees, a room containing:

(a) a sink;

(b) a toilet;

(10) a room for storing bedding and animal feed;

(11) an area for storing soiled bedding.

O.C. 690-88, s. 9.

10. Any employee who may come in contact with bulls kept in an establishment where activities are carried out under permit and who was in contact with cattle elsewhere than in his workplace within the last 24 hours shall take a shower and dress with exclusive use clothes as soon as he enters the establishment.

O.C. 690-88, s. 10.

11. No person may enter a room where a bull is kept without having first walked through a disinfection footbath.

O.C. 690-88, s. 11.

12. A permit holder may not locate an establishment where bulls are kept less than 50 m from a lot where other cattle are kept.

O.C. 690-88, s. 12.

13. A permit holder must ensure that the bulls kept in an establishment where activities are carried out under permit cannot come closer than 50 m from a lot where other cattle are kept.

O.C. 690-88, s. 13.

14. In the construction of walls and floors in all facilities used for keeping bulls, a permit holder shall use materials that are hard, washable and can be disinfected.

In the construction of walls and floors in all facilities where semen in handled, he shall also use materials that are hard, smooth, washable and can be disinfected.

In a room used for collecting semen, he may use anti-skid materials to prevent bulls from slipping.

O.C. 690-88, s. 14.

§ 2. — Staff

15. A semen collection permit holder shall employ permanently a member of the Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec in order to enforce the health controls prescribed in this Division.

O.C. 690-88, s. 15.

16. A permit holder shall employ a person responsible for the laboratory where analysis, processing and conditioning of semen is performed as prescribed in this Division.

Such person shall hold a bachelor’s degree in a field related to these operations.

O.C. 690-88, s. 16.

17. No person may collect semen as prescribed in this Division unless he holds a secondary school diploma issued by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports.

O.C. 690-88, s. 17.

18. No person may carry out semen analysis, processing or conditioning prescribed in this Division unless he holds a college diploma in medical laboratory technology or in another field related to such operations issued by the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology.

O.C. 690-88, s. 18; S.Q. 2013, c. 28, s. 204.

19. No person may carry out semen handling and delivery in vials prescribed in section 32 unless he holds a secondary school diploma issued by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports.

O.C. 690-88, s. 19.

§ 3. — Bulls

20. A semen collection permit holder shall, before admitting a bull to an establishment where activities are carried out under permit, obtain a certificate signed by a veterinary surgeon to the effect that:

(1) in the case of a breeding bull, it is free from any defect of the genital organs or any hereditary disorder that is visible, known to him or that he suspects;

(2) within 30 days before its admission, the bull had undergone tests proving that it was free from:

(a) tuberculosis;

(b) brucellosis;

(d) malignant catarrh;

(e) paratuberculosis;

(f) bovine leucosis;

(3) the herd from which the bull comes is free from any clinical sign of infectious disease.

O.C. 690-88, s. 20.

21. Upon admission of a bull to an establishment where activities are carried out under permit, a permit holder shall keep the bull in a quarantine area built for that purpose for at least 30 days, during which time the bull may not come in contact with any other animal.

O.C. 690-88, s. 21.

22. At least 30 days after the admission of the bull to the quarantine area, a permit holder shall obtain a certificate from a veterinary surgeon to the effect that the bull has undergone tests showing it to be free from the diseases mentioned in paragraph 2 of section 20 and uncontaminated by Campylobacter fetus or by Trichomonas foetus.

O.C. 690-88, s. 22.

23. A permit holder shall obtain a certificate from a veterinary surgeon to the effect that each bull:

(1) has undergone annual tests showing that it is free from:

(a) bovine leucosis;

(b) paratuberculosis;

(d) trichomoniasis;

(e) campylobacteriosis;

(2) has undergone semi-annual tests showing that it is free from:

(a) brucellosis;

(b) tuberculosis;

(3) has undergone quarterly tests showing that it is free from bovine leucosis, if it is younger than 24 months of age.

O.C. 690-88, s. 23.

24. A permit holder shall keep a sick bull in a quarantine area built for that purpose for the duration of its disease and he may not put it in service for that period.

O.C. 690-88, s. 24.

§ 4. — Collection and conservation of semen

25. A semen collection permit holder shall have in his establishment where activities are carried out under permit, at least the following apparatus:

(1) artificial vaginas;

(2) a glass drier and sterilizer;

(3) a microscope with heated stage;

(4) scales;

(5) an oven;

(6) a sterilizer;

(7) a cold room;

(8) a filler and sealer of semen vials;

(9) a freeze tray;

(10) liquid nitrogen refrigerators for cooling and storage;

(11) a disinfecting bath;

(12) 3 double boilers;

(13) a spectrophotometer;

(14) a hot plate;

(15) a pH meter;

(16) a distillator;

(17) a glass washer;

(18) a stove;

(19) a magnetic stirrer;

(20) a semen vial printer;

(21) a thermocouple.

O.C. 690-88, s. 25.

26. The person carrying out the semen collection shall use for the collection a device which has been sterilized beforehand.

O.C. 690-88, s. 26.

27. A semen collection permit holder shall have a spermogram done on the volume and concentration of semen in each lot of fresh semen and a spermogram to determine the quantity of living spermatozoa after unfreezing in a vial taken from such lot.

O.C. 690-88, s. 27.

28. For the purposes of this Regulation, “lot” means the contents of ejaculates from a bull collected in the same day.

O.C. 690-88, s. 28.

29. A permit holder shall reject any ejaculate containing red blood cells, leucocytes or any foreign body.

O.C. 690-88, s. 29.

30. A permit holder shall add antimicrobial agents to any ejaculate, in a diluting medium, in sufficient quantity to prevent the development of microorganisms found in semen.

O.C. 690-88, s. 30.

31. A permit holder shall reject any unfrozen semen containing Haemophilus, Trichomonas foetus, Campylobacter fetus, Ureoplasma or Mycoplasma.

O.C. 690-88, s. 31.

32. The person responsible for analyzing, processing and conditioning semen shall place it in vials containing a minimum of 8 × 106 mobile spermatozoa after unfreezing.

O.C. 690-88, s. 32.

33. A semen collection permit holder shall indicate on each semen vial:

(1) his international code of semen collection permit holder;

(2) the name and code of the bull who supplied the semen;

(3) the registration number of the bull;

(4) the breed of the bull;

(5) the date the semen was frozen or the lot number from which it comes.

O.C. 690-88, s. 33.

§ 5. — Files

34. A semen collection permit holder shall keep a record containing the documents relating to his operations.

Such documents shall include:

(1) for each breeding bull staying in the establishment where activities under permit are carried out:

(a) its name and registration number;

(b) its date of birth and breed;

(d) the date of its admission and the date it began service;

(e) the pedigree of the animal and the results of the young sires proving program to which he was submitted;

(f) the percentage of females inseminated once without being reinseminated between the 60th and 90th days following;

(g) the date, nature and results of examinations, the name and address of the person who carried out the examinations, and where applicable, the diagnoses and the treatments prescribed;

(h) the date and cause of death or extermination and manner of disposal of the carcass;

(i) a certificate issued by a laboratory establishing its blood types and certifying the authenticity of the pedigree;

(j) the registration certificate of any bull registered in the stud books of a breeders association;

(2) for each ejaculate collected in the establishment where the activities under permit are carried out:

(a) the identity of the bull, the name and address of the owner of the animal, where the bull is not owned by the permit holder;

(b) the time at which the collection was made;

(c) the name or initials of the person responsible for the collection and for each operation or examination to which the semen is subjected, the date and nature of such operations or examinations and the result of such examinations;

(d) the volume of semen collected, rejected or conditioned, its concentration and degree of dilution;

(e) the results of the quality tests carried out on fresh and frozen semen, including the results of the spermogram giving the concentration and motility.

O.C. 690-88, s. 34.

35. A permit holder shall also enter in a record any purchase of semen which was not produced in the establishment where activities under permit are carried out, giving:

(1) the name and address of the establishment where the semen was produced or its international code number;

(2) the name and address of the semen seller, if different from the person mentioned in paragraph 1;

(3) the name, code and registration number of the bull and its breed;

(4) the date the semen was frozen or the lot number of origin of the semen.

O.C. 690-88, s. 35.

36. A permit holder shall enter in a record any shipment of semen, giving:

(1) the name, code and registration number of the bull who supplied the semen and its breed;

(2) the date the semen was frozen or the lot number of origin of the semen;

(3) the number of semen vials;

(4) the shipping date;

(5) the method of shipment of the semen;

(6) the name and address of the customer, where applicable.

O.C. 690-88, s. 36.

37. A permit holder shall keep the records prescribed in this subdivision for a minimum of 15 years from the date of the last entry.

He shall keep them in the establishment under permit.

O.C. 690-88, s. 37.

DIVISION III

SEMEN DELIVERY

38. Any person who delivers semen and any person to whom semen has been delivered shall have a bill of lading or invoice giving at least, for each lot or part of lot, the information contained in the form in Schedule II.

O.C. 690-88, s. 38; O.C. 151-90, s. 3.

39. Any person who keeps semen in his possession shall store it in an establishment where the activities are carried out under permit, except during delivery.

O.C. 690-88, s. 39.

DIVISION IV

GENERAL INSEMINATION PERMIT

40. The holder of a general insemination permit may keep in his possession bovine semen, deliver it and carry on artificial insemination of animals.

O.C. 690-88, s. 40.

41. A permit holder shall reserve an area in a room used exclusively for the storage of semen he keeps in his possession and for keeping records under this Regulation.

O.C. 690-88, s. 41.

42. Before inseminating an animal, a permit holder shall:

(1) unfreeze semen and put it in the inseminating device so as to avoid contamination or alteration of such semen;

(2) verify the identity of the animal and refer to the herd register of the breeder in order to obtain the date of the last insemination of the animal.

O.C. 690-88, s. 42.

43. In order to inseminate an animal, a permit holder shall:

(1) use disposable instruments where they come into contact with the genital tract of an animal;

(2) wear a disposable glove;

(3) clean the vulva of the animal in one sweeping motion with a disposable towel and not use any disinfectant;

(4) insert and pull out carefully from the genital tract of the animal the instrument used for insemination;

(5) completely deposit the semen in the anterior portion of the uterine cervix.

O.C. 690-88, s. 43.

44. After inseminating an animal, a permit holder shall:

(1) disinfect the gun if it is soiled;

(2) disinfect his hands;

(3) disinfect his boots upon leaving the barn.

O.C. 690-88, s. 44.

45. Immediately after each insemination, a permit holder shall record the following particulars for himself, the owner of the animal and the semen collection permit holder:

(1) the date and place of insemination;

(2) the name and address of the breeder and the name of the permit holder or the permit number;

(3) the breed, name and registration or identification number of the animal inseminated and of the bull that provided the semen;

(4) the name and address of the establishment where the semen was produced or its international code number;

(5) the indications and inscriptions found on the semen vial used;

(6) in the case of a reinsemination, the date of the previous insemination, the serial number of the document certifying such insemination and the registration number and code of the bull and of the establishment that provided the semen used;

(7) the serial number of the document in which such particulars are entered.

O.C. 690-88, s. 45.

46. A permit holder shall, for each lot or part of a lot he keeps in his possession, enter in a record the particulars prescribed in section 38.

O.C. 690-88, s. 46.

47. Section 36 applies to a general insemination permit holder.

O.C. 690-88, s. 47.

48. A permit holder shall keep in the establishment where activities under permit are carried out the records prescribed in this Division for a minimum period of 3 years from the date of the last entry.

He shall make them available for a minimum period of 15 years from the date of the last entry.

O.C. 690-88, s. 48.

49. A permit holder shall keep an up-to-date inventory of the semen owned by a breeder and kept by the permit holder.

O.C. 690-88, s. 49.

DIVISION V

(Revoked)

O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

50. (Revoked).

O.C. 690-88, s. 50; O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

51. (Revoked).

O.C. 690-88, s. 51; O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

52. (Revoked).

O.C. 690-88, s. 52; O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

53. (Revoked).

O.C. 690-88, s. 53; O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

54. (Revoked).

O.C. 690-88, s. 54; O.C. 1620-95, s. 9.

DIVISION VI

SEMEN POSSESSION PERMIT

O.C. 1620-95, s. 10.

55. A semen possession permit holder may only keep semen in his possession and deliver it as permitted under the permit.

O.C. 690-88, s. 55; O.C. 1620-95, s. 11.

56. A permit holder shall reserve a room in an area used exclusively for storing semen he keeps in his possession and for keeping the records he must keep under this Regulation.

O.C. 690-88, s. 56.

57. A permit holder shall, for each lot or part of a lot he keeps in his possession, enter in a record the particulars prescribed in section 38.

O.C. 690-88, s. 57.

58. A permit holder shall keep in the establishment where activities under permit are carried out the records prescribed in this Division for a minimum period of 3 years from the date of the last entry.

He shall make them available for a minimum period of 15 years from the date of the last entry.

O.C. 690-88, s. 58.

DIVISION VI.1

(Revoked)