It is amazing how rules differ between species. Up here in Canada just look at the CFIA protcalls for scapie,CWD and BSE. They all differ. Personally i thought they should all follow what was set out for sheep years ago when i was going to university. I don't know how much they have changed if any. But back in the day if a flock had 1 case of scrapie the whole herd was destroyed,buried and owners paid for expenses associated and pastures could only be hayed for 5 years no animals allowed to graze and other livestock were allowed after 10 years and after 25 years sheep were allowed back on it. Those were the rules set out by the CFIA when i went to university a while back , I thought that was a good system and when we saw BSE in the UK i thought it only made sense to follow the set protocalls. But with CWD i saw elk farms repopulate after 1 year of a mass kill. It really puzzeled me why the difference in between species. Personally I think if you have the misfortune of finding one of these diseases the old sheep rules should apply. Until we test every target animal i think the problem will continue. I may be considered a bit extreme but i think testing all OTM cattle is the way to go to get a handle on this on the beef end. I think the cost is worth it forget the foreign market we need to do this to eliminate the problem and ensure human health. But the flaw in that logic is other countries won't bite the bullet and do the same. As well there are now wild animals with TSE's i only hope these wild animals can't have the tse jump spiecies or we are in for a world of hurt. This is a complex problems and i don't have all the answers but i am doing my share to ensure my animals don't have or spread this plague.
