. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CUB/13 
24 February 2006 
 (06-0817) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  REPUBLIC OF CUBA  
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Cattle  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  Canada  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document :  Requisitos sanitarios-
veterinarios de la República de Cuba para la  importación de ganado bovino de origen de 
Canadá  (Veterinary health requirements of the Re public of Cuba for imports of cattle from 
Canada) (3 pages, in Spanish). 
6. Description of content:  The animals for export must have been born in Canada.  Canada 
must be free of the main OIE-listed diseases th at restrict international trade in cattle.  
Canada must have a national cattle identifi cation programme through which the mother and 
the herd of origin can be located and it can be established that the mother, siblings or 
descendants are not affected by Bovine Spongi form Encephalopathy (BSE).  Canada must 
have animal health regulations in force which prohibit the feeding of ruminant animals with 
proteins of ruminant origin, with the exception of milk and milk protein, protein-free tallow 
and blood.  The animals for export must not be  offspring of cows suspected or confirmed as 
cases of BSE and must originate from farms or herds that have had no confirmed cases of BSE.  The animals must have been isolated in a facility approved by the Canadian Food 
Inspection Agency (CFIA) and supervised by an  accredited or official veterinarian of the 
CFIA, who has certified, 24 hours prior to emba rkation, that the animals are clinically 
healthy and show no clinical signs of transm issible disease, nor appear to have tumours, 
fresh wounds or wounds in the process of healing. 
 The import process will be supervised and approved in Canada by a official 
veterinarian appointed by the Directorate-Genera l of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of 
the Republic of Cuba.    
7. Objective and rationale: [    ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests        G/SPS/N/CUB/13 
Page 2  
 
  8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[  ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [ X ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [   ] None 
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:        
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Requisitos 
sanitarios-veterinarios de la República de Cuba para la importación de ganado bovino de 
origen de Canadá  (Veterinary health requirements of the Republic of Cuba for imports of 
cattle from Canada) (3 pages, in Spanish). 
 Veterinary Health Certificate/Export Cattle  to Cuba – HA 1031 (4 pages, in English 
and Spanish). 
10. Proposed date of adoption:  Not applicable  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  Not applicable  
12. Final date for comments:  Not applicable  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [    ] National notification 
authority, [    ] National enquiry point, or addres s, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:        
13. Texts available from:  [  X ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
Ministerio de Comercio Exterior,  
Dirección de Organismos Internacionales,  Calle Infanta N° 16 esquina 23,  
Ciudad de la Habana, Municipio Plaza de la Revolución, República de Cuba.   
Fax:      (537) 542266  
E-mail:  eva.quintana@mincex.cu  Instituto de Medicina Veterinaria Dirección Nacional, Calle 12 N° 355 entre 15 y 17,  
Ciudad Habana, Municipio Plaza de la Revolución, República de Cuba.   
Fax:       (537) 8303537  E-mail:  dnimv@infomed.sld.cu
, rbescofet2002@hotmail.com , acere2@yahoo.es