American inspector investigating Alberta BSE case
15.jul.06
CBC.CA News
American officials are sending an investigator to Alberta to look into how a cow on a farm south of Edmonton was infected with mad cow disease.
It's the seventh Canadian cow to test positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Unlike a recent BSE case in Manitoba, the Alberta cow was born after 1997, when Canada imposed a ban on the type of feed associated with BSE.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it would send an inspector to aid in the investigation into the Alberta case.
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said there are unanswered questions.
"We need a thorough understanding of all the circumstances involved in this case to assure our consumers that Canada's regulatory system is effectively providing the utmost protections to consumers and livestock," Johanns said.
'Keep the politics at bay'
The Montana-based R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America argued in a release issued Thursday that Canada's BSE problems are hurting the reputation of American beef.
Alberta Beef Producers chairman Darcy Davis said Thursday the American reaction concerns him, especially since the U.S. has congressional elections this fall.
"We're trying to base things on sound science, and as long as we stick to sound science, hopefully we can keep the politics at bay," he said.
Cow didn't die of BSE
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quarantined the farm and is doing BSE testing on other cows born within a year of the dairy cow.
Alberta's chief veterinarian, Gerald Ollis, said the four-year-old Edmonton-area cow actually died of something other than BSE.
"It wasn't exhibiting any signs that would make you think it was BSE," he said. "It's quite likely she died of something other than BSE, and BSE has just been discovered as an incidental finding."
