December 29, 2003

 

 

US To Reassess Allowing Restricted Canadian Cattle Imports

 

The United States will reassess its proposal to allow restricted imports of Canadian cattle after detecting a mad cow case in Washington state, a U.S. Agriculture Department spokeswoman announced Saturday.

 

The USDA said it believed the infected Holstein cow was likely one of a herd of 74 dairy cows imported to Idaho from Alberta, Canada, in August 2001.

 

In May this year, Canadian officials reported the discovery of a single case of mad cow disease in a black Angus cow in Alberta, but USDA said it was too early to speculate on whether the two cases were related.

 

The Canadian outbreak prompted the USDA and other foreign countries to shut its borders to Canadian beef and cattle.

 

The USDA has proposed resuming imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said the department would take another look at its proposal in light of the U.S. mad cow outbreak.

 

The U.S. beef industry has asked the USDA not to reopen the U.S. border.

 

"We are requesting an indefinite extension of the final comments regarding the opening of the Canadian border to live animal trade until the (U.S. mad cow) investigation is complete," said Terry Stokes, chief executive officer of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

 

The USDA said it has not imposed any additional restrictions on Canadian beef trade since this week's discovery of mad cow disease.

 

The United States has allowed some "low-risk" beef imports derived from Canadian cattle younger than 30 months. Scientists believe young cattle are unlikely to contract mad cow disease.

 

Canada's cattle industry has lost an estimated $2.5 billion since it found mad cow disease in May. The United States is hoping to avoid the same fate.