South Korea's Gyeonggi province to halt slaughter of downer cattle

The Gyeonggi province of South Korea, which ordinarily slaughters around 600 downer cattle a year, will halt the process this year saying that the affliction has nothing to do with mad cow disease.

The Gyeonggi provincial government decided no longer to slaughter such cattle in the future but dispose of them for purposes other than eating.

The government on Monday (July 7) disclosed that about 600 of the 130,000 cattle slaughtered in the province every year cannot stand on their own feet, according to the South Korean newspaper, Chosun.

These animals show symptoms of metabolic disorders, fractures, birth defects or debility, the government said.

Gyeonggi province has so far inspected only 1,680 cattle, or 1.3 percent of all the animals slaughtered annually in the province for mad cow disease.