MAD COW DISEASE

Plan to Allow Canadian Cattle Into U.S. Worries Ranchers Canada is nearly 200 miles north of here as the crow flies, but it looms very large once again to cattle ranchers like Craig Winterburn. The Bush administration is moving ahead with plans to reopen the border with Canada to the importing of live cattle and beef on March 7, despite two new cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease, in Canada. Both cases were found in Alberta, the province just north of here. The decision has ignited anger and concern among cattlemen across the West, who say reopening the northern border could endanger an industry that is prospering for the first time in many years. One cattle producers group has asked a federal court to keep the cattle and beef from coming into the United States....
6 cattle tied to BSE animal shipped to U.S. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is trying to trace six cows it says were born on the same farm as a BSE-infected animal and then shipped to the U.S. Spokesman Marc Richard said American officials have been contacted and are looking for the cattle, which were born in the year before and after the infected cow. When the animals are found, they will be slaughtered and tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy....
U.S. lowers age of cattle for Japan export The United States has told Japan that it is prepared to restrict beef exports to meat from cattle aged up to about 14 months, in a bid to break a deadlock on the restart of trade, a Japanese daily said on Tuesday. The proposal will be discussed at a meeting between U.S. and Japanese experts in Tokyo on Wednesday, which will be open to the public, the Nihon Kezai Shimbun said. After months of protracted talks, Tokyo agreed in October to resume beef imports from cattle aged up to 20 months. However, the two countries have been unable to reconcile their differences on how to judge the age of an animal. The Japanese daily said the new U.S. proposal was aimed at decreasing the possibility of meat from cattle older than 20 months slipping into the Japanese market....