01/12/05 Canada confirms another BSE case

American Rancher January 12, 2005 Canadian officials Tuesday confirmed yet another case of BSE or mad cow disease. This time the disease showed up in an animal that was younger than seven years old. That means it was born after the 1997 Canadian ban on using ruminant materials to feed other ruminants. That adds a new wrinkle to the situation which the head of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Doctor Ron DeHaven, said in a statement, would cause USDA to expedite sending a U.S. technical team to Canada to evaluate and investigate the situation. This new case of BSE, the second in three weeks and the third since May of 2003, also begs the question of whether USDA will stick to its new rule which would open the U.S. border to some young Canadian cattle on March 7th. Addressing that issue in his statement DeHaven said quote" As always protection of public and animal health is our top priority. The result of our investigation and analysis will be used to evaluate appropriate next steps in regard to the minimal risk rule published last week. USDA officials have previously pointed out that under international standards Canada could have up to 11 cases of BSE and still be considered a minimal risk region. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that based on preliminary information, feed produced prior to the 1997 feed ban remains the most likely source of infection of the animal in this newest case. I'm Bob Hoff.