The Associated Press reports a confirmed case of BSE in a 6 year old Canadian cow. Yet another animal born after the feed ban went into effect. What part of the feed ban is it that some people can't seem to understand. As cattle feeders and ranchers we suffer everytime there is a confirmed case but yet as the only people responsible to assure no banned feeds are fed it continues to happen. People obviously continue to feed banned feed. Maybe I'm wrong here but we make ourselves look like idiots and there is nobody to blame but ourselves. We need to police ourselves better or maybe I hate to say police each other better. Your thoughts anyone.
Another Canadian BSE case
- Thread starter somn
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Texan
Well-known member
I have two thoughts. One is the angle that you present having to do with non-compliance with the feed ban. I'm sure that it happens, or has happened. And you're correct that we need to stop it. For consumer confidence reasons, if no other.
The other thought is that I'm not so sure that this case can be traced to feed. In fact, it's really almost impossible. How can we be so certain that feed contained the infective agent in this case? Isn't it really just a best guess?
Seems like everybody wants to jump to the conclusion that science has figured all of this out and pinpointed ruminant to ruminant feeding as the culprit in all cases. I'm not convinced.
The other thought is that I'm not so sure that this case can be traced to feed. In fact, it's really almost impossible. How can we be so certain that feed contained the infective agent in this case? Isn't it really just a best guess?
Seems like everybody wants to jump to the conclusion that science has figured all of this out and pinpointed ruminant to ruminant feeding as the culprit in all cases. I'm not convinced.
denoginnizer
Well-known member
What if it is discovered that the feeding ban has no/little impact on controlling bse? What if it were discovered that cattle could be naturally infected at any age ? What protocols would need to be in place at that time to insure consumer safety?
denoginnizer":o0aatnfe said:
In that case it would require developing a test for live cattle and become a matter of testing all cattle coming into or going out of a particular state like it is now with Bangs, or vesicular stomatitis in some states. If one turns up positive, the whole herd is quarantined.
cypressfarms
Well-known member
What's the cost of testing a cow? I'm thinking that as much as cattlemen may complain about mandatory testing for every cow, they would be better off than having your country's export of beef stopped.
cypressfarms
Well-known member
msscamp":2tr0v2jm said:
Maybe the USDA can test every animal. Surely there has to be a better way than to try to make people believe that you have it under control and hope for the best.
dcara
Well-known member
I saw an add in a copy of Country World mag that I picked up at the sale barn. There was an add in it for "Wastelage" as a feed alternate so I called the guy. He tells me that its a product you mix with cow manure from your pasture and ferment for a few days and then feed it back to the cattle. I was amazed! Have any of you heard of this?
longhorn314
Well-known member
I'm not gonna make my cattle eat their own be nice!dcara":3gzn936b said:
frenchie
Well-known member
longhorn314":3c5q1oaw said:
Me neither...
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
denoginnizer":c16cuu86 said:
Last number I heard there was that one in a million contract BSE "spontaneously".
Folks, I gotta say this - I think we are kicking the crap outta this disease. I think the media realizes that if we all act professionally they can't blow it out of proportion, and there is no "story" in it for them.
Once again - the farmer caught it, like the last U.S case. We (agriculture) are doing what we said we will do, preventing it, detecting it and keeping it out of the food chain.
I think even the Japanese are starting to see significant drops in their cases.
Here's hoping it is just a bad memory in a few years.
MikeJoel
Well-known member
Just my thoughts on it,
I dont see why anyone allows any form of animal product in their feeds.
BSE is linked mostly to cattle eating of their own kind. A disease VERY similar to BSE spread through the human cannibals in New Guinea in the past.
I was on a site a while back that was describing a feeding system. It included blood meal, manure, solids from urine and a few other things that I dont remember specifically.
Why would someone be so into getting the last pound they can from an animal that they sacrifice the animals health and public safety?
Well like I said it is just my thoughts on it,
Mike
I dont see why anyone allows any form of animal product in their feeds.
BSE is linked mostly to cattle eating of their own kind. A disease VERY similar to BSE spread through the human cannibals in New Guinea in the past.
I was on a site a while back that was describing a feeding system. It included blood meal, manure, solids from urine and a few other things that I dont remember specifically.
Why would someone be so into getting the last pound they can from an animal that they sacrifice the animals health and public safety?
Well like I said it is just my thoughts on it,
Mike
dcara
Well-known member
The reason I posted this info on this thread is that I wouldn't be surprised if this "wastelage feed" didn't turn out to be a path for contraction of BSE. Even if it wasn't, Im not going to feed it either.
AngusLimoX
Well-known member
dcara":350zl5pa said:
Glad you posted it dcara, shows we all have to be so careful.
I doubt that stuff is legal anywhere in North America, but it shows ya what some will do to make a buck.
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
I guess my belief is that there probably was a certain amount of non-compliance when this ban came into place. Back then, it was a problem that was 'over there' and the feed producers were still figuring they could make a quick buck by using ground up cow parts to add protein into the mix. I sure hope that after events of the past couple of years that they've wised up. If not they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and fined to the amount the cattle industry loses for every time their non-compliance becomes an issue. From what I hear the feed ban is working in the UK and the number of cases here will decline over time as well. I also think that there are a certain number of spontaneous cases. After all, if these prions are transferred by eating other cow brains that have been infected, the original cow must have got it somewhere. It didn't just appear out of thin air. I think when they find that these cases appear spontaneously that the countries that are calling themselves BSE free are going to be questioned on how effective their testing is and at that point the US and Canada will regain the upper hand in world markets. JMHO.
