8,000 Canadian Cattle Quarantined!

[Oldtimer]

Nine Saskatchewan farms quarantined after mistakenly getting prohibited feed

Canadian Press
Published: Thursday, March 01, 2007

SASKATOON (CP) - Nine Saskatchewan farms and as many as 8,000 cattle, deer and other ruminants have been quarantined.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency shut down the farms after ruminant meat and bone meal was accidentally shipped to those farms from a Saskatoon feed mill.

Those materials have been banned from feed since 1997 as part of rules to protect against the spread of mad cow disease.

Two of the affected farms are in the Swift Current area, the rest around Saskatoon.

Dr. George Luterbach of the CFIA says a risk assessment is being done on the affected animals.

© The Canadian Press 2007

 

[Roadapple]

If it's been banned since '97, how did they mix it into that amount of feed?

 

[I luv herfrds]

This "mix up" has happened before, just not in this magnitude. I can't remember the exact details, but a private group went and took feed samples in different areas and different feed manufacturs and the results were horrifying. Over half of the samples were positive for bone and meat meal.
I will have to make a few calls and see if I can track down the full story and pass it along.

 

[skcatlman]

Maybe you want the real story-the mix up was at the rendering plant they were supposed to ship feather meal (which isn't banned)to a feed company who wanted protien for a supplement and mistakenly sent blood and bone meal. the dried protien meal was supposedly put into a ration. As soon as this was discovered the farms were quarentined. It should be mentioned that blood meal is not prohibited in the US as it is in canada. As well as the number of feed ban violations that have occured in the US is in the thousands according to the USDA where as this is a rareity in canada and was swiftly reacted to.

 

[Oldtimer]

Kind of gives an idea why Canada has had 11 cases of BSE with 5 of them being born AFTER the feedban was put into place...It either isn't being taken serious or purposely is not being followed....

 

[feelnrite]

Hey oldtimer you are going to get another butt chewing from the canadians. HaHa

 

[skcatlman]

Hey OT read your own post it is -as many as 8000 deer, other ruminants and cattle, not 8000 cattle . Why don't you post the complete article not a edited version. I don't know what you are like but if you make a mistake in canada you admit to it and accept the consequences. The article siad it was done mistakenly. I am sorry we are not perfect like you. LMAO

 

[Oldtimer]

I don't know what you are like but if you make a mistake in canada you admit to it and accept the consequences. The article siad it was done mistakenly. I am sorry we are not perfect like you. LMAO

\

skctllemn-- Heres the link to the article:

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/agric ... a8&k=97846

What did I leave out :???: :roll:

Purposely, mistakenly , whatever reason for the feedban violation -- it is a health concern that everyone needs to be aware of- especially since many of these cattle that may have been exposed to the infection and now are quarantined are also the same cattle that Canada is trying to get the US to open the border to and allow them imported into the US to further endanger the US herd safety, US consumer safety and confidence, and the longterm economic viability of the US cattle industry.........

Especially since Canada has found 11 cases of BSE- 10 in the last 4 years and 5 of those being born after this "supposed" feedban was put in.... :roll:

 

[skcatlman]

TRY TO KEEP UP OLDTIMER!!!!!! One farm a 7000 hd feed lot has been removed from quarentine they had not yet fed any of the supplement. All the feed was accounted for. Too bad you can't react this fast. 2 more farms are expected to be removed this afternoon as it seems all the feed on those farms can be accounted for as well so how many animals will be under investigation by next week according to news reports under 300 head and any animal exposed is expected to be destroyed as a safety precaution. We play for keeps up here and take violations seriously.

 

[Rangenerd]

Plants like the the one that "made a mistake" need be shut down. These rendering and feed production plants know the rules, and need to be forced to abide by them. Don't they have pre and post production quality control program?
As for it being a mistake in mixing, that is BS. You can't tell me that the guy running the mixer can't tell the differance between chicken feathers and blood and bone meal. The smell alone should give it away. It sounds to me like it is standard operating procedure to, find the cheapest form of protein, and use it, the hell with the rules.
How many millions of dollars has screw ups, like this one, cost our industry, both here in the states and up north. Until the Canadians can prove that they can regulate themselves the border need to stay closed to all Canadian cattle. If the sitituation was reversed, I would hope the canadians would demand the same from us.

 

[skcatlman]

Range nerd it has been mentioned the B&B meal was from a US supplier i'm waiting for th CFIA to comfirm. I'll give you 2 samples of processed protien meal and you tell me which is which. I have fed supplements, they can be difficult to tell apart it is not like one is feather chunks and the other are bone chunks when processed they are both light brown colored dust. the response of the CFIA should provide comfort as should the feedmill reporting it self to the CFIA and giving out invoices as to who bought what, for trace out purposes. Up here we are fast, efficient, and decisive when it come to accidents like this. Check out the CFIA report to date. You will see how cooperative all parties have been and how speedy and effeceint this process has been. How are things going on down in Georgia with that oops how many animals and farms were quarentined with that feedban violation? Has the USDA traced all the feed and animals it was fed to?

 

[badroute]

The USDA doesn't have the time to trace feedban violations, they are too busy trying to push Canadian cattle into the U.S.

 

[skcatlman]

Bad route -The USDA reports numbers of feed fan violation over 100 per year in the US so i would think they would take that seriously, as you have indeginous BSE cases. Are you saying the USDA is not enforcing the feed ban . If you want i can get lists of US feedban violations, but are you saying the USDA does not trace back the feed to who used it, when discovered. That is just scary.

 

[Oldtimer]

Are you saying the USDA is not enforcing the feed ban . If you want i can get lists of US feedban violations, but are you saying the USDA does not trace back the feed to who used it, when discovered. .

USDA does not have authority over the feedban. It is enforced by the FDA.

 

[skcatlman]

Ot it is starting to sound like a banana republic down there the US department of Agriculture has no authority over agricultural livestock feed production. You are saying the Food and drug administration controlls that. Screwed up system it explains alot.

 

[Oldtimer]

Ot it is starting to sound like a banana republic down there the US department of Agriculture has no authority over agricultural livestock feed production. You are saying the Food and drug administration controlls that. Screwed up system it explains alot.

I will agree with you there...FDA oversees the safety of all food except meat and cheese- which falls under the USDA for inspection-- but then FDA has authority over livestock feed... :roll:

Congress has tried to straighten it out several times, but The Big 4 Packers want to keep it that way because they totally control the USDA...

 

[Gary J Gale]

skcatlman! I have a solution!! Keep your Canadian cattle in Canada? We do not need nor want them! Sounds to me like you are purely "Anti-American" so I'm sure you do not want to market your beef here anyway? You are in Denial slick! I'll bet, truth be told, you probably would rather eat American Beef anyhow!!!!

 

[skcatlman]

That is a good one. I perfer barley fed beef, if you feed that i would eat US beef. As far as me being "anti-american" that is so far from the truth you have no idea. All i have ever tried to say is that both the US and Canada have indeginous BSE cases. With both countries currently having the same classification by the OIE when it comes to BSE. The beef industry is a continentally intergrated and BSE interuped that for a while but it is about to resume. As for the canadian cattle the US is in a grind (or burger) deficite and has been for over a decade so yes your comsumers do need to to import beef to fill that market. I am not the one in denial I want as much testing and regulations as possible so BSE can be eliminated, but because the US is a part of this north american beef market i think our goverments should set international standards and rules for BSE testing and feed-ban rules.

 

[BAGTIC]

skcatlman,

Keep all your oil and natural gas up there too. We don't want or need any of that foreign crap in this country.

Sound extreme?

No more than the chauvinistic nationalistic crap we get on this board. Of course it is different when we are trying to sell abroad.

Everyone is doing the best they can. We are all in this together. Excect those perfect people who have never made any kind of mistake in their life.

 

[skcatlman]

Bagtic what are you trying to say? This extreme stuff is a waste of time, Canada and the US do 1 billion dollars of trade a day. The largest trading relationship in the world. Just come out and say what you want i am an adult an can take what ever you have to say. So let it fly.