Tests Confirm Second Mad Cow Case in U.S

[Shawnski]

WASHINGTON - Tests have confirmed mad cow disease in a U.S. cow previously cleared of having the brain wasting illness, the Agriculture Department said Friday. It is the second case of mad cow disease in the United States.


An internationally recognized laboratory in Weybridge, England, confirmed the case of mad cow disease after U.S. tests produced conflicting results, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said.

Moooo

However, the Agriculture Secretary didn't know these new tests had been requested at all.

WASHINGTON - Amid uproar from cattlemen, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns questioned why his department's inspector general ordered new tests for mad cow disease two weeks ago without his knowledge or approval.....New tests were ordered earlier this month on an animal declared to be free of mad cow disease

WTF did you test again for? The cow was OK the last time...

Cover-up?

[Cowperson]

Originally posted by Shawnski@Jun 24 2005, 07:46 PM
Cover-up?

Just a personal observation - it would be pretty surprising if an industry THAT large with THAT many cattle didn't have as many mad cow instances as the smaller Canadian industry, even accounting for lesser preventative measures that allowed for a greater incident rate in Canada.

Cowperson

[Tron_fdc]

One quote I heard from a scientist last year was "if you've had one case of mad cow detected in your system, you've likely had it for a decade"

To think there is only one isolated case in the US or Canada would be a little naive.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally posted by fotze@Jun 24 2005, 09:27 PM
I defend the US most of the time but this madcow shinguard is blatant protectionism and complete bullshinguard. arseholes.

Tron, has your family lost money because of all of this ?

Yeah, but not as substantially as most. Their herd has gone down in value, but because they are purebred show cattle, it's a little different than the commercial industry. Instead of selling meat, we more or less sell the genetics of a heifer or bull, which isn't really subject to mad cow. We also export genetics (semen and embryos) around the world so it more than makes up for any loss the actual cattle sustain.

The border closure is actually forcing a lot of farmers to look at other markets (asian being one) which is a good thing IMO. It decreases the dependancy we have on the Americans.

[MarchHare]

We also export genetics (semen and embryos) around the world so it more than makes up for any loss the actual cattle sustain.

Do I want to know how you acquire the bull semen?

[Tron_fdc]

hahaha

I was actually waiting for fotze's inquiry on that one.

And no, you don't want to know. And no, I've never done it.

[Lurch]

Just a personal observation - it would be pretty surprising if an industry THAT large with THAT many cattle didn't have as many mad cow instances as the smaller Canadian industry, even accounting for lesser preventative measures that allowed for a greater incident rate in Canada.

Cowperson

My understanding was Canada actually has much better measures, as well as better testing, tracking and screening. This as much as anything probably explains why we have had more cases FOUND. Also, I have heard from people that call themselves experts on the subject that there is a spontaneous incidence rate of about 1 per million. I think there are 3 million cows in Canada.

[Cowperson]

Originally posted by Lurch@Jun 24 2005, 10:15 PM

My understanding was Canada actually has much better measures, as well as better testing, tracking and screening. This as much as anything probably explains why we have had more cases FOUND. Also, I have heard from people that call themselves experts on the subject that there is a spontaneous incidence rate of about 1 per million. I think there are 3 million cows in Canada.

When I said "lesser preventative measures that allowed for a greater incidence . . ." I was speaking in the past tense where Canada, I believe, was slower to react to the threat.

Canada dug its grave early.

We're essentially saying the same thing about today.

Cowperson