MAD COW - Close the border!
U.S. confirms new mad cow case
Tests have confirmed that the United States has its second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.
A representative from the British lab that tested the cow said there is "no evidence that this was an imported animal."
The first case of mad cow disease confirmed in the United States 18 months ago was born in Canada and sold to an American rancher before ending up on a farm in Washington state.
In the latest case, a beef cow was slaughtered in November after being identified as a high-risk animal, or a "downer," meaning it couldn't walk, said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.
Meat from the cow wasn't sold to consumers or for animal feed, he added.
"The fact that the animal did not enter our food supply shows that our safeguards are working as they should," Johanns told a Friday afternoon news briefing.
The USDA first announced on June 10 that samples from the cow had registered as positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in preliminary tests. Samples from the animal were then sent to Britain for analysis.
Speaking from Alberta, where he is touring flood-damaged areas of the province, Prime Minister Paul Martin said he's not surprised there is another case of mad cow disease in the U.S.
"We know full well that when the testing is done, there are some incidents that occur," said Martin.
The U.S. closed its borders to Canadian beef more than two years ago after BSE was confirmed in an Alberta cow.
Martin said there is no reason to keep the border closed.
"We want to get that border open, and that border should have been open a long time ago, based on confirmed science," he said.
It's the second confirmed case of mad cow in the U.S. An earlier case of the brain wasting disease in the U.S. was discovered in Dec. 2003.
International borders, including the lucrative Japan market, snapped shut to U.S. beef at that time.
Tests have confirmed that the United States has its second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.
A representative from the British lab that tested the cow said there is "no evidence that this was an imported animal."
The first case of mad cow disease confirmed in the United States 18 months ago was born in Canada and sold to an American rancher before ending up on a farm in Washington state.
In the latest case, a beef cow was slaughtered in November after being identified as a high-risk animal, or a "downer," meaning it couldn't walk, said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.
Meat from the cow wasn't sold to consumers or for animal feed, he added.
"The fact that the animal did not enter our food supply shows that our safeguards are working as they should," Johanns told a Friday afternoon news briefing.
The USDA first announced on June 10 that samples from the cow had registered as positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in preliminary tests. Samples from the animal were then sent to Britain for analysis.
Speaking from Alberta, where he is touring flood-damaged areas of the province, Prime Minister Paul Martin said he's not surprised there is another case of mad cow disease in the U.S.
"We know full well that when the testing is done, there are some incidents that occur," said Martin.
The U.S. closed its borders to Canadian beef more than two years ago after BSE was confirmed in an Alberta cow.
Martin said there is no reason to keep the border closed.
"We want to get that border open, and that border should have been open a long time ago, based on confirmed science," he said.
It's the second confirmed case of mad cow in the U.S. An earlier case of the brain wasting disease in the U.S. was discovered in Dec. 2003.
International borders, including the lucrative Japan market, snapped shut to U.S. beef at that time.
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