Alberta cow tests positive for mad cow

[bse-tester]

When I posed questions this morning on the radio conference, the CFIA stated openly that they fully expected to find more cases of BSE in Alberta. They also stated that they were absolutely sure that none of this animal went into the human food chain or into animal feed. My secondary question to him was it is one thing to expect to find more cases but it is another entirely different thing to mention that none of this animal went into animal feed in light of the fact that the food ban has been in effect since 1997. Why then even mention the animal feed point when it is completely mute. That was a concern for me that they even had to bring that point home to the listeners especially when the ban has been in effect since 1997. What are they not telling us?? It is a fact that not all feed mills are following the rules all of he time and it is painfully obvious that even the US Meat sellers are still not follwing the rules with respect to the Japanese closing their doors to US Beef due the inclusion of SRM's in the US shipments. All the more reason now to bring about mandatory testing of all animals and feed. How else can producers have the confidence in the market acceptance of their product. Testing a mere 70 or 80 thousand animals out of a national herd of many millions is not going to give the level of confidence that other countries need to accept our beef and until the testing of the national herd, both in Canada and the USA, becomes the standard, producers will forever have the specter of BSE waiting in the shadows to rear its ugly head yet again.

 

[Anonymous]

Tam- actually thats 6 cases of cows of origin--Even CFIA lists the Washington cow as a Canadian origin....

OK- 6 months ago you had 3, then 5, now 6----2 Post feed ban--What is your magic number that you reallize you have a problem :???: 10- 50-150-5000... :lol:

Do you now see why many in the US don't want anything OTM coming into the States- especially when we still have loopholes in our FDA feed ban....

Tam- and yes R-CALF has been calling for the strictest of standards since day one- even if it meant testing everything slaughtered...They are looking at the long term of the cattle industry rather than the short term gain of the Packers...

 

[Mike]

How have you been Ron? Missed you around here.

The PR tricks come out in all politicians Ron. They just can't help but think people are ignorant of the facts. This is the same type of spin that Ann Veneman spewed on the Today Show about the Washington cow. She led everyone to believe that none of the food made it to the trucks, and that all downers were tested.




:???:

 

[mrj]

Tam -

I understand why you are angry at R-Calf. However you have to admit that their stance on BSE -- taken independently of their stance on Canadian imports -- has been more proactive and realistic than that of the USDA, administration, or NCBA.

You know I am not an R-Calf member. First I am not a producer. Second I did not agree from the beginning with their stance on Canada because from what I heard and read, Canadian surveillance was better than US surveillance so saying otherwise was wrong. In fact, false. I also felt that their motivation was twofold and it was not at all my business to get involved in trade issues versus BSE issues which I feel all of us have a right and an obligation to pay attention to.

Mike (?? was it Mike or someone else) had it right however, Tam, that while you and Oldtimer and the rest of you fight away, someone else is laughing all the way to the bank...

Unless you all find this really fun, pushing each other's buttons and blowing up, I suggest you figure out how to be all one big producer family IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. Yeah, I know, impossible. Just like it's impossible for our darn elected officials to act as one force against terrorism, instead they are wasting time and money yelling at one another while we are trounched economically and endangered.

R2

Reader2, please share with us exactly why you feel the R-CALF "stance on BSE" is more effective and realistic than is that of NCBA, and also please detail the differences between the two stances.

MRJ

 

[Econ101]

and by the way Mike I believe econ called you a brown noser Shocked

Where? Show me where he said that about me! I can't believe he would use Jason's name on me. Where? Post the quote! Oh $hit, what do I do?

Econ, would you do that to me? Why? Just give me one good reason. :wink:

No, Mike it was not to you. I knew when I wrote it that it would probably be interpreted that way, but I thought everyone had heard me before on this issue so they knew where I stood. I guess I will have to keep going down a level when I post and think Tam will read it.

 

[Silver]

Tam- actually thats 6 cases of cows of origin--Even CFIA lists the Washington cow as a Canadian origin....

OK- 6 months ago you had 3, then 5, now 6----2 Post feed ban--What is your magic number that you reallize you have a problem :???: 10- 50-150-5000... :lol:

Do you now see why many in the US don't want anything OTM coming into the States- especially when we still have loopholes in our FDA feed ban....

Tam- and yes R-CALF has been calling for the strictest of standards since day one- even if it meant testing everything slaughtered...They are looking at the long term of the cattle industry rather than the short term gain of the Packers...

You just don't get it do you? You crack me up. How many positive bse cases does your inept system have to miss before you realize you have a problem? 10-150,5000? :lol:
Do you see why the world is laughing at you? :roll:
Problem is it's not a lauging matter OT, it's serious business. And until you get your system up to snuff, you need not be 'casting stones'.
This is a problem we all need to face together, and should be working together on. Your attitude shows us all the root of the problem... ignorance.

 

[cowsense]

Boy you take some time out for an election(results disappointing -minority government) and this whole thread has degenerated into a whole mess of namecalling and backstabbing.......maybe just maybe we all could be politicians :lol: :lol:
Backing up just a bit I would like to return to the liability insurance issue. I'm surprised that only R2 had an understanding of the seriousness of the issue. Insurance companies and their underwriters are extremely fickle and drop hot issues as fast as they arrive. Animal diagnostic labs were notified 3 years ago that there would be no liability coverage on BSE and FMD. Since than Avian flu has been added to the list. Compare that to your own personal policies where items such as HIV and other highly contagious diseases are exempted from any and all coverage. It doesn't matter if there's only a slight or nil chance of problems the insurance companies are covering off any liabilities on controversial and highly visible disease's. As a result any diagnostic testing is forced back to government agencies with their citizens as taxpayers bearing the penalty of any ensuing liabilities!
My whole point was that private company testing for BSE is almost impossible under this scenario and countries that are doing this testing must be doing it under government sponsorship! To me this dictates that countries with a large cattle population must target their testing towards a surveillance mode. The resulting prevalence of the disease will determine any future needs to eradicate the problem and to guarantee food safety!

 

[blackjack]

...you have to remember silver ...oldtimer never allows cows in his herd to get old enough to get bse... i expect if you asked every canadian producer on this board they would say they have had at least one or more cows tested out of their herds... how many americans can say the same... :roll:

 

[Silver]

...you have to remember silver ...oldtimer never allows cows in his herd to get old enough to get bse... i expect if you asked every canadian producer on this board they would say they have had at least one or more cows tested out of their herds... how many americans can say the same... :roll:

Well, I wouldn't want to roll OT into the same ball as the majority of Americans. He's "special" :wink: :wink:

 

[blackjack]

...agreed.... :lol:

 

[frenchie]

Don't listen to her Econ. They didn't have ID in place pre-BSE.

BSE was found in Canada in 1993. :wink:

I take back my last post :roll: :roll: Although Tam's post was very reasonable in tone and content, it wasn't entirely factual BUT I assume they put it in place in response to their 1993 case and I say good for them.[/quote]


Which happened to be a imported cow from The U.K

 

[Tam]

Tam- actually thats 6 cases of cows of origin--Even CFIA lists the Washington cow as a Canadian origin....

OK- 6 months ago you had 3, then 5, now 6----2 Post feed ban--What is your magic number that you reallize you have a problem :???: 10- 50-150-5000... :lol:

Do you now see why many in the US don't want anything OTM coming into the States- especially when we still have loopholes in our FDA feed ban....

Tam- and yes R-CALF has been calling for the strictest of standards since day one- even if it meant testing everything slaughtered...They are looking at the long term of the cattle industry rather than the short term gain of the Packers...

Again if the 93 cow was a Canadian case then the Washington cow was a US case. :x As the 93 cow was as native to Canada as the Washington cow was to the US. So I start counting our cases the same way you count your NATIVE cases Oldtimer which means 1 in May 2003, 1 in Dec 2003, none in 2004, 2 in Jan 2005 and 1 a year later in Jan 2006. add them up Oldtimer even with the Washington cow that is 5 not 6. By the way Oldtimer we when from 2 to 4 a YEAR AGO not 6 months ago. And Oldtimer think of this way, yes we may have 5 cases in the last 2 1/2 plus years which was proven by the testing we are DOING in Canada. Maybe you should see this as something else the US need to do somethinig about to catch your system up with Canada's. Feed ban loopholes, compliance to feed bans, testing the correct cattle not Cheekstones under aged cattle, and National ID system. All the things Reader seems to think you have been asking for. And please don't forget the honesty part OLDTIMER that seems to be the one all you R-CALFers have a problem with.
By the way the calls for stricter safeguard didn't seem to overshadow the Washington Post Ad claiming the US has the World Highest Standards or the comments to the USDA that claimed

Under no circumstances should the United States accept any cattle, beef or beef products, from countries that do not maintain identical or more stringent safeguard measures that is presently required or presently proposed in the United States which measures have been enforced for at least as long as the United States.

And the internet speech from Leo claiming ( I love this one)

we know if we are going to keep consumer confidence we are going to maintain some of the highest standards in the world to make sure that BSE is not introduced into this country. And we are going to make sure we have the best meat and bone meal ban in this country in place. So if for some reason we did find a case we can stand and look our consumers right in the eye and say, don't worry we have had these firewalls in place for years, the only country prior to having a case of BSE to have these firewalls in place for so many years. And we did it to make sure if a case was ever found it was a non-issue.

Kind of looks like Leo thought the US firewalls were good enough to protect your consumers when he made this little doozy.

They are looking at the long term of the cattle industry rather than the short term gain of the Packers.

Oldtimer you make me laugh R-CALF is looking out for the high cattle prices, and they are willing to say anything to protect them even if it causes long term damage. How else would you explain the comment "All beef coming from a country affect by BSE is tainted and unsafe for human consumption." The only reason the US producers aren't living down this little gem is that US consumers realized where it came from and ignored it.

 

[frenchie]

Tam- actually thats 6 cases of cows of origin--Even CFIA lists the Washington cow as a Canadian origin....

OK- 6 months ago you had 3, then 5, now 6----2 Post feed ban--What is your magic number that you reallize you have a problem :???: 10- 50-150-5000... :lol:

How about 1 Texas Cow OT is that enuff.. :wink:

 

[greg]

Ya cowsence it got into name callin while you were gone,should know better then leave us alone! usually try and stay outta this crap,just bad day all around.Can't even give an opinion without being accused of bein someone else.

 

[3words]

It is amazing how many of us here get so riled up in response to some unknown person posting some words on a rancher's forum, isn't it?! :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

What is amazing is that we all know which "Buttons" to push to get a particular response from a person. NO :lol:

Yeah, it's almost like being married. :wink:

If this is what married life,is suppose to be like.I want a divorce.

 

[Econ101]

Don't listen to her Econ. They didn't have ID in place pre-BSE.

BSE was found in Canada in 1993. :wink:

I take back my last post :roll: :roll: Although Tam's post was very reasonable in tone and content, it wasn't entirely factual BUT I assume they put it in place in response to their 1993 case and I say good for them.

Frenchie: "Which happened to be a imported cow from The U.K"

The key here was to take quick action on eliminating a health threat to the cattle population. It should not have been so dramatized or even tried to be covered up (as it seems the U.S. is trying to do with their control over the BSE tests).

 

[Tam]

Don't listen to her Econ. They didn't have ID in place pre-BSE.

BSE was found in Canada in 1993. :wink:

I take back my last post :roll: :roll: Although Tam's post was very reasonable in tone and content, it wasn't entirely factual BUT I assume they put it in place in response to their 1993 case and I say good for them.

Which happened to be a imported cow from The U.K

The key here was to take quick action on eliminating a health threat to the cattle population. It should not have been so dramatized or even tried to be covered up (as it seems the U.S. is trying to do with their control over the BSE tests).[/quote]

In early 1994, Agriculture Canada officials rounded up the remaining British imports, then slaughtered, tested and incinerated them. The same was done to the offspring of the infected Red Deer cow, along with other cows from the Red Deer herd. A storm of protest blew up, mainly from Canadian ranchers who owned prized British breeding cattle. Their bulls were worth $40,000 to $50,000, but the Canadian government had placed a maximum $2,500 payout for any lost animal. Some ranchers resisted. In Morinville, Agriculture Canada officials had to raid a farm at dawn in September 1994 to truck away a purebred Charolais bull which was under a death sentence. "They've proved to me they're dictators," the bull owner, Walter Jerram, said than of Agriculture Canada. I'm not going to put up with what they did. I've never been screwed like this before in my life." " It was not a happy time, Willis now says. "We were accused of being a little draconian in our approach. The charges were obviously troublesome. We felt we were taking the responible action to the best of our knowledge. We knew it was causing hardship." No further cases of BSE were found in the Red Deer herd or in any of the slaughtered imports. Canadian cattlemen could breathe again. Canada's BSE-free status was intact. "the belief was that we had one animal, that's all," Willis says. At the time, Willis himself believe that his department had been pushed to take overzealous action. "Actions were taken out of sheer paranoia with people significantly hyped by the media, he told the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's convention in 1996. "We took actions that went way beyond ones that were scientifically justified"

Who covered up anything in Canada we have been up front about BSE and as I can see The CFIA did what they thought was needed even under protest of the industry which kept our BSE FREE STATUS INTACT until May 2003 Maybe you would like to discuss this without bringing in the Pickett case and the Captive Supply destroying our markets.

 

[bse-tester]

I took some time of to go and enjoy Tuscany. I should have found that place 30 years ago Mike, it was the most incredible place I have seen for many years. Now I am back and into the fire again. Seems like each time I leave another cow shows up with BSE. You are absolutely right about the political manouvering that is being donew here. This animal is said to be 6 years old or so and not subject to any contaminated feed and yet when I was on the radio/telephone conference with the Minister and the members from the CFIA, they all kept on talking about the fact that nonew of the animal was sent into feed. It appears as if they were systematically trying to convince the listeners that even though the feed ban has been in effect since '97, not one tiny little bit of this animal made it into feed - anywhere!! What is with that?? I would have thought that the topic of no part of this animal going into feed was a given and not even mentionable and yet they went on and on about it. Something is not right in Denmark Mike. Also, I did not hear if the VLA Lab in Weybridge was involved in this confirmation?? The Chief Vet from the CFIA told me catagorically that they expected to find further BSE infections and voila, here comes the first of what may be many more to come as far as they appear to think. It is time for a comprehensive testing program that takes in the entire Canadian herd and not just a random sampling that amounts to less than 10% of the entire cattle herd. Good to hear you are still here Mike. We will talk further on this and other topics I am sure. Ron.

 

[frenchie]

-






the following you quoted as from me is not my statement econ.101...It is Mikes

.I take back my last post :roll: :roll: Although Tam's post was very reasonable in tone and content, it wasn't entirely factual BUT I assume they put it in place in response to their 1993 case and I say good for them

 

[Mike]

I took some time of to go and enjoy Tuscany. I should have found that place 30 years ago Mike, it was the most incredible place I have seen for many years. Now I am back and into the fire again. Seems like each time I leave another cow shows up with BSE. You are absolutely right about the political manouvering that is being donew here. This animal is said to be 6 years old or so and not subject to any contaminated feed and yet when I was on the radio/telephone conference with the Minister and the members from the CFIA, they all kept on talking about the fact that nonew of the animal was sent into feed. It appears as if they were systematically trying to convince the listeners that even though the feed ban has been in effect since '97, not one tiny little bit of this animal made it into feed - anywhere!! What is with that?? I would have thought that the topic of no part of this animal going into feed was a given and not even mentionable and yet they went on and on about it. Something is not right in Denmark Mike. Also, I did not hear if the VLA Lab in Weybridge was involved in this confirmation?? The Chief Vet from the CFIA told me catagorically that they expected to find further BSE infections and voila, here comes the first of what may be many more to come as far as they appear to think. It is time for a comprehensive testing program that takes in the entire Canadian herd and not just a random sampling that amounts to less than 10% of the entire cattle herd. Good to hear you are still here Mike. We will talk further on this and other topics I am sure. Ron.

I missed something in your post yesterday, bse-tester. I believe that you are mixing up FOOD CHAIN (FOOD SUPPLY) and feed ban. They said the cow did not enter the food chain and I have always taken that to mean ONLY it was not in any way part of the HUMAN food supply. I could be wrong and I'll go look again at CIFA's Q&A session.

All of the radio broadcasts I have heard said the animal did not make it to the "Food" or "Feed" supply. I have thought it odd since the beginning that they would make this a highlight. I heard again in the tractor just a few minutes ago :???: Sure getting lots of airplay.