Canada Reports New Case of Mad Cow Disease

Canada on Thursday confirmed its second case of mad cow disease in as many weeks _ and seventh since 2003. Shipments of cattle to the United States were halted in 2003 after the first reported cases of mad cow in Canada. Trade in cows younger than 30 months resumed last July. The latest case was of a 50-month-old dairy cow from a farm in western Alberta, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would send an inspector to aid in the investigation into the death. Last week, Canadian officials another Albertan cow died of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, an extremely rare disease that can be fatal in humans. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the deaths "raise questions that must be answered." "We need a thorough understanding of all the circumstances involved in this case to assure our consumes that Canada's regulatory system is effectively providing the utmost protections to consumers and livestock," Johanns said, adding he was dispatching a USDA expert to help with the investigation. The cow, part of a herd of 300 head of cattle on an Edmonton-area farm, was among 170 other cows that will now be tested for the disease. Those animals were born within a year of the diseased cow and are either on the same farm or have been sold to other farms. Canada implemented a feed ban in 1997 that prohibited the use of cattle parts in certain animal feeds. Last month, that ban was extended to include all types of animal feed, pet food and fertilizers, in an effort to help eliminate BSE from Canada's herd in the next decade. The latest case discovered means the four-year-old cow came into contact with BSE after the 1997 feed ban. Government officials said this is typical and that sporadic cases will continue to be found....

US Cattle Industry Group Wants USDA To Ban Canada Cattle, Beef

R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America Thursday called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rescind its rule allowing Canadian cattle and beef to be imported into the U.S. The call came in the wake of an announcement by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirming bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, in a 50-month-old dairy cow. The latest case was the fourth BSE case for Canada this year and was the youngest Canadian animal yet. The cow was born well after 1997 when Canada implemented its ban on feeding ruminant-derived meat and bone meal back to ruminants. The cow also came from Alberta, where a large percentage of the cattle and beef products imported into the U.S. originate, a release from R-CALF USA said. "USDA must now acknowledge that the principal assumptions used to support its Final Rule (allowing those imports) are no longer valid and that much more needs to be done to mitigate the heightened BSE risks presented by Canadian beef and cattle," said R-CALF USA President Chuck Kiker. The reaction from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association was more muted. "Our position would be that we share the CFIA's desire to get a full accounting about how this cow might have been exposed to BSE, and we will be following the results of that investigation closely," said Joe Schuele, director of trade media for the NCBA. "We were pleased to see that they invited U.S. officials to participate in their investigation," Schuele said. Asked about news reports that the USDA is working on a rule that would allow beef product imports from cattle older than 30 months from countries regardless of the number of cases of BSE, Schuele said current NCBA policy only supports the current range of products. This policy approves cattle and products from cattle 30 months old and younger.