May 20, 2004

Too Few Mad-Cow Tests In Canada
 

The federal government's internal experts told the authorities that they had to test at least 65,000 cows in the first year of stepped-up testing to have any hope of calling Canada free of mad-cow disease.

But in January, the agriculture minister announced a program of just 8,000 tests in the first year, rising slowly over five years to as many as 30,000.