Health Canada: Bureau of Veterinary Drugs

The Bureau of Veterinary Drugs is a branch of the Food Directorate of the Health Protection Branch in the Department of Health. Health Canada’s authority is to regulate drugs based on the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. The Bureau evaluates veterinary drugs for use in animals to ensure that they are safe and effective and that meat, milk, eggs, fish, and honey do not contain potentially harmful drug residues. The approval of pesticides is the responsibility of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency in Health Canada. Pesticides that are administered orally or parenterally are considered to be "drugs", and thus, they are the responsibility of the Bureau. The Bureau also evaluates and approves new drugs and monitors them once they are on the market. Post-market surveillance includes inspection of selected plants and quality control analyses of marketed veterinary drugs. The Bureau also evaluates reports of adverse drug reactions and therapeutic failures and if necessary, corrects hazards. The market is monitored for the sale of unregistered or mislabelled veterinary drugs, as well as advertisements for veterinary drugs. The Bureau makes recommendations for the importation or release of drugs for experimental use. The Bureau is committed to increasing public awareness concerning the safe use of veterinary drugs by providing advice to veterinarians, drug manufacturers, feed manufacturers, livestock producers, and the general public. Producers are encouraged to report any adverse drug reactions to their herd veterinarians, who should report these findings to the Bureau.

For further information, contact: Bureau of Veterinary Drugs, Health Canada, Sir Frederick G. Banting Research Centre, 2nd Floor (North/West Side) P.L. 2202A1, Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0L2, Tel: 613-957-3824, Fax: 613-957-3861, Email: Canada Vetdrugs@hc-sc.gc.ca, Website: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/datahpb/datafood/english/Veterinary_Drugs/veterinary_drugs.html.