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Animals, just like people, need medications to stay healthy, to treat or prevent diseases and to maintain peak performance. Animal health products and veterinary medicines are tools farmers, veterinarians and pet owners need to keep animals healthy and to promote good animal welfare.
At CAHI, we serve as the trusted, science-based voice of the animal health industry.
Part of our role is to advocate on behalf of our members to ensure veterinarians, farmers and pet owners have access to essential products to keep animals healthy and safe.
Just like people, animals need medication from time to time to manage health and well-being. Some of the more common types of drugs used in veterinary medicine include: analgesics (for managing pain), antibiotics (antimicrobials), anti-inflammatories and anesthetics. Drugs make up the largest category of veterinary medicines, with the licensing and sale of these products regulated by the Veterinary Drugs Directorate within Health Canada.
Biologics are products that are derived from modified living organisms with their role being to trigger the immune system to respond to a specific disease trigger – like a virus or bacteria. Examples of biologic(s) used in veterinary medicine include: vaccines, toxins, bacteroids, anti-toxins and antibodies. Licenses to market and sell a veterinary biologic in Canada must be obtained from the Canadian Centre for Veterinary Biologics, within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Animals, just like humans and plants, can be bothered by external parasites such as fleas, ticks, and mites.. Veterinarypesticides help to prevent and control these types of infestations. Veterinary pesticides are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, Health Canada.
Feed Additives, which include certain ingredients in an animal’s feed or water are also regulated by Canada’s federal government. The Feeds Division of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for ensuring that only those feed additives that meet the government’s strict regulatory requirements are sold in Canada.
Feeds for the following species of livestock are currently regulated under the Feeds Act and Regulations: cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese), fish, foxes, mink, and rabbits.
Veterinary Health Products (VHPs) are the equivalents of Natural Health Products for humans. They include supplements and substances such as vitamins and minerals, herbal remedies, homeopathic medicines, traditional medicines (such as Chinese medicines), probiotics, and other products like amino acids and essential fatty acids. This is an expanding area of veterinary medicine, and the Veterinary Drugs Directorate has taken the lead on regulating products in this category to ensure that Canadians can have confidence in the VHPs available to them.
