Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
Mad cow was a pet
DAN PALMER, EDMONTON SUN
A Barrhead area farmer hopes by reporting his dairy cow named Boss to authorities - which was confirmed to have BSE and was like a family pet - it helps officials find ways of preventing mad cow disease. "I just hope that by doing what I did it's going to help the whole system," Allan Degner said last night, after explaining it was his animal the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed on Sunday that had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.
"I hope they can find out more about it," said Degner, adding a lot of people are feeling sorry Boss is dead because almost anyone could call her and feed her.
"She was that tame of a cow," said Degner.
"She was actually like a family pet."
Degner said he bought Boss around 1999 from a buyer in the Westlock area who had got it from a nearby auction market.
"We called her Boss because she was sort of the boss cow around here," said Degner. "I got 20 other range cattle and she sort of seemed liked the leader."
Degner bought Boss so that he could use her to feed milk to steer calves he would later sell.
"It was cheaper than buying milk replacer," said Degner. "Powdered milk is pretty expensive. It's like $55 a bag."
But in mid-December, Boss began to walk funny and then couldn't walk at all. Degner said at first he thought Boss had milk fever, which is an infection of a cow's udder.
"She had milk fever last year too so I just automatically thought she had milk fever."
The veterinarian came and treated Boss for milk fever, but it didn't help.
Degner and the vet then euthanized the animal just before Christmas and sent samples away for testing. Degner said the CFIA isn't sure yet what it's going to do with the 20 other beef cows on his farm.
"They checked all my feed and checked everything out," said Degner.
Degner said he fed Boss only grain.
He thinks she was raised on a southern Alberta dairy farm. He believes that farm is now quarantined. The CFIA has said the latest infected animal was born in 1996.
DAN PALMER, EDMONTON SUN
A Barrhead area farmer hopes by reporting his dairy cow named Boss to authorities - which was confirmed to have BSE and was like a family pet - it helps officials find ways of preventing mad cow disease. "I just hope that by doing what I did it's going to help the whole system," Allan Degner said last night, after explaining it was his animal the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed on Sunday that had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.
"I hope they can find out more about it," said Degner, adding a lot of people are feeling sorry Boss is dead because almost anyone could call her and feed her.
"She was that tame of a cow," said Degner.
"She was actually like a family pet."
Degner said he bought Boss around 1999 from a buyer in the Westlock area who had got it from a nearby auction market.
"We called her Boss because she was sort of the boss cow around here," said Degner. "I got 20 other range cattle and she sort of seemed liked the leader."
Degner bought Boss so that he could use her to feed milk to steer calves he would later sell.
"It was cheaper than buying milk replacer," said Degner. "Powdered milk is pretty expensive. It's like $55 a bag."
But in mid-December, Boss began to walk funny and then couldn't walk at all. Degner said at first he thought Boss had milk fever, which is an infection of a cow's udder.
"She had milk fever last year too so I just automatically thought she had milk fever."
The veterinarian came and treated Boss for milk fever, but it didn't help.
Degner and the vet then euthanized the animal just before Christmas and sent samples away for testing. Degner said the CFIA isn't sure yet what it's going to do with the 20 other beef cows on his farm.
"They checked all my feed and checked everything out," said Degner.
Degner said he fed Boss only grain.
He thinks she was raised on a southern Alberta dairy farm. He believes that farm is now quarantined. The CFIA has said the latest infected animal was born in 1996.
