January 7, 2004

 

 

Proof That BSE Cow Is Canadian Seen As Key To Restart US Trade

 

U.S. government and agriculture industry officials say they believe that proof now being gathered to show a U.S. cow that contracted bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, was born and infected in Canada will be key to convincing countries to lift bans on U.S. beef.

 

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have stressed repeatedly that, based on a paper trail, they believe the BSE-positive Holstein cow was imported from Canada but are waiting for DNA testing to be completed to reinforce that theory.

 

USDA Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn said: "If this cow did indeed come from Canada and that gets established by the DNA evidence - that it wasn't born here, wasn't fed here in its formative years - then I think you can make a pretty strong argument that we've not had any indigenous cases of BSE ..."

 

USDA Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven said the DNA tests are being performed in two laboratories in the U.S. and in Canada and that results will not be released until both efforts are completed.

 

A USDA spokesperson said that may happen as early as Tuesday.

 

Gary Weber, an animal-health specialist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said he agreed that the cow's origin is key and pointed to the fact that Canada retained its BSE-free status after it proved a 1993 case there was imported from the U.K.

 

Trent Thomas, a representative of Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, said the DNA evidence is key but stressed he is already convinced the cow came from Canada.

 

"I know we're waiting for the DNA tests, but I don't think there's any reasonable doubt that that cow originated in Canada," Thomas said. "The rancher's records are the most definitive information."

 

Proof that the BSE-infected cow was Canadian may be especially important to restart U.S. beef exports to Japan, the largest market for U.S. beef.

 

Also key to restarting U.S. beef exports will be USDA finding and testing the other 81 original herdmates of the cow, some of which already have been located, Thomas said.

 

Japan accepts only U.S. beef certified to have been derived from cattle born and bred in the U.S.

 

When Canada announced on May 20 that it confirmed a case of BSE, Japan threatened to cut off beef purchases from the U.S. because of the numerous Canadian cattle that populated herds in the U.S.

 

In response, the USDA created the Beef Export Verification program to certify U.S. processors complied with Japan's demands.

 

The U.S. continues to ban all Canadian cattle, although it has proposed a new rule to eventually open its border to them, so long as the animals are under 30 months of age.

 

A team of Japanese government officials is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. Wednesday to follow up on the U.S. investigation into the BSE case it reported on Dec. 23. The team is expected to meet with USDA officials in Washington D.C. and travel to Washington state, where the infected cow was discovered.