The draft set of actions to ensure the safety of genetic material of agricultural animals was approved
On September 15, 2021, in Moscow, at the meeting of the Commission on Economic Issues under the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a draft set of joint actions to ensure the biological safety of genetic material in the reproduction of farm animals for the period up to 2026 was approved. The document will be submitted for consideration by the Economic Council and the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS.
Ekaterina Agrinskaya, Head of the Certification Body of The Russian State Center for Animal Feed and Drug Standardization and Quality, and Seidfatima Borunova, Chief Researcher of the Department of Sanitary and Clinical Microbiology, made reports at the meeting.
Currently, in connection with the selection for high productivity, a significant number of genetic anomalies are recorded, the carriers of which are the leaders of meat and dairy breeds. All this can lead to the transmission of unwanted mutations to the next generation and, in general, threaten the food security of the state.
The project of the Set of joint actions is aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of infectious diseases when using genetic material for artificial insemination of farm animals, the number of gynecological and andrological diseases, abortions and mastitis, preventing the birth of non-viable young animals.
The document provides for the implementation of a number of different actions aimed at protecting animal health, including:
- creation and improvement of the necessary regulatory and legal support, including the development and approval of framework, national programs for the prevention and control of infections transmitted by artificial insemination of animals;
- unification of diagnostic tools and methods for the isolation and identification of pathogens based on the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE);
- coordination of joint actions of the veterinary services of the CIS member states and international organizations (OIE / FAO) for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infectious agents;
- development and implementation of plans for the phased examination of genetic material for each state.
According to the experts of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "VGNKI" (The Russian State Center for Animal Feed and Drug Standardization and Quality), the successful implementation of all the measures included in the draft of the Set of joint actions will improve the quality and ensure the biological safety of genetic material used in the reproduction of farm animals in the CIS.
