Canada is checking another animal for mad cow disease

December 31, 2004
Washington Post/N.Y. Times/Globe and Mail/Vancouver Sun/Calgary Herald/

One day after the U.S. Agriculture Department announced that concern over mad cow disease should no longer keep the border closed to live cattle from Canada, the Ottawa government revealed yesterday, according to these stories, that it has detected another suspected case in a dairy cow.

Ron DeHaven, USDA's chief veterinarian, was quoted as saying, "As unfortunate as the timing may seem, it is purely coincidence," and that the Agriculture Department will still push for reopening the border even if the animal turns out to be infected with the brain-wasting disease.

DeHaven was further quoted as saying, "In making our decision about live cattle from Canada, we took into account the possibility that other cases would be found. If this animal does test positive, then Canada will still be a minimal-risk region [for the disease] under international standards."

In its announcement Wednesday that it intends to reopen the border to live cattle in March, the Agriculture Department said it did so because Canada meets the World Organization for Animal Health's definition of a "minimal-risk" region. DeHaven was further cited as saying that under the international organization's guidelines, Canada could have as many as 10 cases of mad cow disease in adult cattle over a seven-year period and still be considered a minimal risk zone.

Mark Nairn, president of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association, a rancher at Riske Creek, near Williams Lake, was quoted as saying, "The Americans were made aware of [this] investigation . . . and they went ahead and made their announcement. It shows they have confidence in what we're doing."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it was conducting more tests on samples from a 10-year old dairy cow from a farm in Alberta. No details about the farm or its location were released.