>An additional note: After the discovery of the BSE cow in Alberta there
>was a strong discussion in Canada for regulations similar to the ones
>announced in the U.S. last week. However, until the US case, their
>packing and rendering industry saw no need, and we were reluctant to
>adopt regulations which were inconsistent with theirs because of the
>close interconnections of our livestock industries in North America.
>That was the reason for Dennis Laycraft's expectation that there would
>be a joint US-Canadian announcement.
>
>Regards
>Ross Gould, P.Ag. (Retired)
>Calgary, Alberta
>
US now has a ban on downers. Thing is that the US cow with BSE wasn't a
downer. She was able to walk, according to testimony.
And there's no scientific reason in most cases to reject downers since
calving problems, broken leg, etc. have no correlation with BSE.
Downer ban is based upon emotion, rather than science. But the move
provides the public appearance the USDA acted to solve a problem.
Dave Gneiser
WisCOWsin
