Alberta says U.S. mad cow not likely from Canada
CTV.ca News Staff
The United States has confirmed a second case of mad cow disease, and Alberta's Minister of Agriculture Doug Horner believes the cow did not originate from Canada.
"At this point in time the evidence would suggest … that this is not from an import," Horner said in a press conference Friday.
"We're going to have to wait until the trace continues, but the information that we have is that this is not an import animal."
Prime Minister Paul Martin said earlier in the day that it's time the U.S. lifted its ban on Canadian cattle.
"The one thing I am going to say is that the border should be open," Martin said, while visiting flood-stricken Alberta.
"The science clearly demonstrates that the Canadian beef industry is among the safest and the soundest in the world. And there is no excuse whatsoever not to have that border open."
The United States has banned Canadian cattle since May, 2003, after a single Alberta cow tested positive for the disease.
Three other Canadian cases have been confirmed since then, including one in a Washington State cow that originally came from Alberta.
Friday's announcement that an American cow had BSE was made by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who said no meat from the cow entered the food chain.
"The fact this animal was blocked from entering the food supply means that our safeguards are working exactly as they should," he told a news conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
"This does not change (our) position at all with regard to reopening the border with Canada,'' Johanns told a news conference.
The cow was born before the United States banned feed that contains cow ruminants, in an effort to stop the spread of BSE.
The cow was first tested last November and showed inconclusive results during a rapid screening test. The USDA conducted two confirmatory tests for BSE, but both came back negative. A third test, called the Western blot test, showed that BSE was in fact present.
Additional testing was then performed in Weybridge, England, and by the USDA's own laboratory. Both confirmed the cow had BSE.
Johanns told reporters that the USDA currently tests about 1,000 cattle per day as part of a BSE enhanced surveillance program.
"One positive result out of 388,000 tests in our enhanced surveillance program indicates that the presence of the disease is extremely, extremely low in the United States," he said.
Johanns was also quick to add: "U.S. beef is safe, plain and simple."
CTV.ca News Staff
The United States has confirmed a second case of mad cow disease, and Alberta's Minister of Agriculture Doug Horner believes the cow did not originate from Canada.
"At this point in time the evidence would suggest … that this is not from an import," Horner said in a press conference Friday.
"We're going to have to wait until the trace continues, but the information that we have is that this is not an import animal."
Prime Minister Paul Martin said earlier in the day that it's time the U.S. lifted its ban on Canadian cattle.
"The one thing I am going to say is that the border should be open," Martin said, while visiting flood-stricken Alberta.
"The science clearly demonstrates that the Canadian beef industry is among the safest and the soundest in the world. And there is no excuse whatsoever not to have that border open."
The United States has banned Canadian cattle since May, 2003, after a single Alberta cow tested positive for the disease.
Three other Canadian cases have been confirmed since then, including one in a Washington State cow that originally came from Alberta.
Friday's announcement that an American cow had BSE was made by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who said no meat from the cow entered the food chain.
"The fact this animal was blocked from entering the food supply means that our safeguards are working exactly as they should," he told a news conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
"This does not change (our) position at all with regard to reopening the border with Canada,'' Johanns told a news conference.
The cow was born before the United States banned feed that contains cow ruminants, in an effort to stop the spread of BSE.
The cow was first tested last November and showed inconclusive results during a rapid screening test. The USDA conducted two confirmatory tests for BSE, but both came back negative. A third test, called the Western blot test, showed that BSE was in fact present.
Additional testing was then performed in Weybridge, England, and by the USDA's own laboratory. Both confirmed the cow had BSE.
Johanns told reporters that the USDA currently tests about 1,000 cattle per day as part of a BSE enhanced surveillance program.
"One positive result out of 388,000 tests in our enhanced surveillance program indicates that the presence of the disease is extremely, extremely low in the United States," he said.
Johanns was also quick to add: "U.S. beef is safe, plain and simple."
