THE US: The US government has said it might pay American farmers to bring in sick or crippled cattle to be tested for BSE as part of safeguards against the deadly disease.
The discovery of mad cow disease in a Holstein dairy cow in Mabton, Washington, has halted American beef exports worth an annual $3.2 billion and slashed cattle prices. However, restaurant and grocery chains say US consumer demand for beef has not wavered in the 10 days since the disease was found.
As part of the federal investigation into the nation's first case of the brain-wasting disease, the US Department of Agriculture said a third herd in Washington state had been quarantined.
The USDA, which banned sick or injured cattle from human food earlier this week, also said yesterday it might pay farmers to turn in such animals, known as "downers", so they can be tested for mad cow disease.
Downer animals which are unable to walk are thought to have a higher possibility of being BSE-infected.
Until this week, the USDA has focused its tests for BSE on cattle intended for human food, because humans can contract a form of the disease by eating infected meat.
Because downer cattle can no longer be taken to slaughter plants, more testing must be done at rendering plants and on farms, the USDA's chief veterinarian, Mr Ron DeHaven, said. "We are working with industry representatives to reposition our efforts to collect those samples on the farm, at rendering facilities."
In its investigation, the USDA has been trying to locate the 81 animals believed to have been imported from Canada with the infected cow in September 2001.
Three herds in Washington state are now quarantined because they include herdmates of the infected cow, thought to have been born in Canada in 1997, the USDA said. DNA tests to prove whether the infected cow came from an Alberta herd are due early next week.
"We now have 11 of them accounted for," Mr DeHaven said. "The whereabouts of the remaining 70 animals have yet to be confirmed."
Of the 11 cows, nine are in two herds quarantined last week. Another one was found in a dairy herd in Mattawa, Washington, which was quarantined two days ago. The 11th animal is the infected cow, which was slaughtered on December 9th.
Alberta is where Canada detected its first native case of mad cow disease last May. The source of infection of that Black Angus cow has never been determined.
Some of the animals in the three quarantined herds in Washington will be destroyed soon so scientists can test their brains for mad cow disease, Mr DeHaven said. - (Reuters)