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Canada Continues to Detect BSE in Younger Cattle Jun 27, 2008
Billings , Mont. – Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Service (CFIA)
announced the detection of yet another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) in Canadian cattle. CFIA reported that the infected animal was a
5-year-old Holstein cow from British Columbia, Canada, which would mean she was
born in 2003.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) points to the reduction in the number
of BSE-infected cattle born after the United Kingdom’s feed ban as evidence that
BSE is under control in Europe. USDA also insists that Canada’s BSE problem has
likewise been decreasing since implementation of its feed ban. In Canada,
however, just the opposite is happening. This latest case – the 14th case
detected in a Canadian-born cow and the 15th case when Canada’s 1993 imported
case is included – also is the eighth case in an animal born after Canada
implemented its 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, and its seventh case in an
animal born after the date of March 1, 1999, that USDA has set for eligibility
for Canadian cattle to be exported to the United States.
Canada has detected more BSE cases in animals born after its feed ban than were
born before. Additionally, these cases in cattle born after the feed ban are
relatively young animals, suggesting they have been subjected to higher doses of
infectivity, accounting for the shorter incubation period of the disease, which
is known to extend beyond eight years. Additionally, it is now clear that
infectivity was circulating in Canadian cattle feed in at least the provinces of
Alberta (11 cases), British Columbia (3 cases) and Manitoba (1 case).
“With a 2003 birth date, this latest case represents the most recent birth of a
BSE-positive animal in Canada, and it is the second-youngest BSE case detected
there as well. This cow was born the same year Canada first detected BSE in its
herd, May 20, 2003, which means that BSE-contaminated feed was still circulating
in the Canadian feed system after Jan. 1 2003,” said R-CALF USA President/Region
VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian. “USDA is ignoring science
by dismissing the mounting empirical evidence that shows Canada’s BSE problem
has worsened well beyond anyone’s expectations, and Canada’s cattle herd
represents a significant risk to the United States.”
Because this particular cow was born after March 1, 1999, USDA’s new OTM
(over-30-month) Rule – put into effect by the agency on Nov. 19, 2007 – would
have allowed this cow to be imported into the U.S. long before she began to
exhibit clinical signs of BSE.
“It is a near certainty that the U.S. will import BSE-infected cattle from
Canada under the OTM Rule, and that these cattle will continue to incubate the
disease right here in our country,” Thornsberry pointed out. “To make matters
worse, our government is not even testing these high-risk Canadian animals
before they enter the U.S. food supply and won’t allow private packers to test
them either. This is the epitome of government irresponsibility. ”
R-CALF USA , along with 10 other plaintiffs, believes the public deserves far
more protection than that provided by USDA’s relaxed import policies and is
challenging USDA’s OTM Rule in federal court. A hearing took place Feb. 19,
2008, regarding R-CALF USA’s request for a preliminary injunction to suspend the
OTM Rule until the court can complete its review of the entire lawsuit. At that
hearing, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol took the matter under advisement
and a decision is still pending.
“After the incredibly long and complicated delay associated with the United
States’ attempts to resume U.S. beef exports to South Korea due to that
country’s BSE concerns, it is irrational for USDA to continue allowing Canadian
cattle into the U.S. that were fed in Canada at the same time BSE was known to
have circulated in the Canadian feed system,” Thornsberry said. “USDA has no
justification for purposely exposing the United States to this unacceptable
risk.”
Thornsberry said that although Congress has failed to step up to provide needed
protections against the introduction of BSE, R-CALF USA continues its request to
Congress to take immediate measures to prevent the inevitable – the importation
of BSE-infected cattle into the United States from Canada.
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of
America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the
continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA
represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues.
Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators,
cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate
organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more
information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.