April 17, 2007
USDA Remiss in Identification of Canadian Cattle Imports
BILLINGS, MT -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that a birth-herd cohort of the BSE-positive Canadian bull identified on Feb. 7, 2007, was indeed exported to the United States in 2002. The heifer was sent to a feedlot in Nebraska and slaughtered a few months later at a Nebraska facility, according to USDA.
“After Canada discovered bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on May 20, 2003, R-CALF USA began to call for USDA to identify all of the Canadian cattle that had been imported into the United States,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “Then, we went so far as to complete a study in July 2004, which indicated if USDA had indeed taken that approach, it would have created an expected annual benefit to the U.S. cattle industry of $80 million. If one of these Canadian animals is found in the future to have BSE, then this approach will benefit the industry by more than $500 million annually.
“The study demonstrated to USDA that the agency needed to identify all of the previously imported Canadian cattle, and the agency refused,” Bullard continued. “If USDA had taken our advice, we wouldn’t find ourselves in the kind of situation that has just developed. USDA should have immediately identified all of the Canadian cattle already here. We are again calling on the agency to do just that so those animals can be differentiated from the U.S. cattle herd in the event one is discovered to have BSE. The task would not be difficult or expensive.
“The estimated cost to identify Canadian cattle here is less than $35 per head, and this relatively modest cost is more than offset by the benefits,” Bullard pointed out. “Failing to track these animals will cost the U.S. cattle industry about $90 million per year, while it would only cost about $10 million to go ahead and track them now. Tracking them might even help open some of our lost export markets.
North Dakota recently conducted a traceback of the Canadian herd cohorts, as defined by USDA, of the first Canadian cow discovered with BSE in May 2003,” he explained. “Every head of cattle that enters the U.S. has a specifically numbered international health certificate. By reviewing those certificates maintained in the office of the North Dakota State Veterinarian, North Dakota was able to determine the premises that received these imported cattle within a matter of weeks.
“Additionally, the numbers on these international health certificates may be readily associated with subsequent U.S. brucellosis ear tags affixed by U.S. veterinarians upon interstate shipment of these imported animals,” Bullard continued. “And last but not least, an industry survey coordinated effort by APHIS (USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), state veterinary offices and U.S. cattle producers could be used to identify a large percentage of these Canadian imports.
R-CALF USA believes the U.S. beef supply is safe, but we also realize the United States is exposing itself to an unnecessary risk by not identifying these animals imported from a BSE-affected country like Canada.
“USDA, basically, has ignored its responsibilities, because prior to Canada’s detection of BSE in 2003, USDA’s policy was to identify all of the previously imported animals from countries affected by BSE,” Bullard explained. “In fact, in 1993, when Canada discovered BSE in an animal imported from the United Kingdom, USDA immediately began to identify all UK-origin cattle that had been imported into the United States. The USDA also did the same for all Japanese cattle imported prior to the detection of BSE in Japan.
“It’s also unfortunate that USDA maintains the stance that it is rare to find another BSE-infected animal in the same herd as a BSE-positive animal,” Bullard noted. “That’s just not always the case.”
It is important to realize that approximately 35 percent of the UK cattle herds had one case of BSE, while another 16 percent of the herds had two cases, and that the remainder of the UK cattle herds had three or more cases of BSE. One herd had 124 cases of BSE in its midst (see http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/statistics/bse/con-cases.htm).
In low-dose scenarios in North America, and in UK cattle born after the complete feed ban was implemented, one still cannot rule out multiple BSE cases in a single herd. The likelihood is definitely lower, but cannot be eliminated. This is demonstrated by the multiple cohort cases born after the complete feed ban in the U.K. The incubation periods will be longer and the ranges wider, which means that culling and testing immediately after the death of the index case is less likely to find positives – partly because the animals need to be closer to clinical onset before they are detectable by testing, but also because there is still a likelihood that other infected animals will have been slaughtered long before the index case is found, especially if it was relatively old when found.
The mature Canadian bull was 79 months old when it was discovered to have BSE, according to documents from the Canadian government.
The target cattle population for BSE testing in the current USDA program – which has been whittled down by about 90 percent – is adult cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age that either show clinical signs consistent with BSE, or those that are dead or non-ambulatory.
R-CALF USA believes USDA is missing perhaps the most important indicator of risk for BSE, and that is the country of origin of the animal because the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) classifies a country’s disease status based on the risk of whether a particular nation has BSE in its native cattle herd.
“The place of birth of the animal is scientifically recognized as the key factor for determining where the disease originated and whether the disease poses a risk to other animals, and the OIE’s health code only recommends a change in disease status for countries with BSE in their native herds,” Bullard pointed out. “Specifically, OIE suggests that countries consider testing cattle that are identifiable as imported from countries affected by BSE.
R-CALF USA membership policy states: “R-CALF USA requests USDA to immediately enlist the support of State Veterinary Officials, Tribal Officials, and brand inspectors, where applicable, to begin identifying all imported cattle that have entered the United States during the past 10 years and to permanently mark all such imported cattle with a recognizable and visible mark of origin. R-CALF USA shall work with Congress or the U.S. Department of Treasury through rule process or legislation to immediately remove livestock from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s J-List, thereby requiring all imported cattle to be marked with a mark of origin as a condition of entry into the United States.
USDA Remiss in Identification of Canadian Cattle Imports
BILLINGS, MT -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that a birth-herd cohort of the BSE-positive Canadian bull identified on Feb. 7, 2007, was indeed exported to the United States in 2002. The heifer was sent to a feedlot in Nebraska and slaughtered a few months later at a Nebraska facility, according to USDA.
“After Canada discovered bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on May 20, 2003, R-CALF USA began to call for USDA to identify all of the Canadian cattle that had been imported into the United States,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “Then, we went so far as to complete a study in July 2004, which indicated if USDA had indeed taken that approach, it would have created an expected annual benefit to the U.S. cattle industry of $80 million. If one of these Canadian animals is found in the future to have BSE, then this approach will benefit the industry by more than $500 million annually.
“The study demonstrated to USDA that the agency needed to identify all of the previously imported Canadian cattle, and the agency refused,” Bullard continued. “If USDA had taken our advice, we wouldn’t find ourselves in the kind of situation that has just developed. USDA should have immediately identified all of the Canadian cattle already here. We are again calling on the agency to do just that so those animals can be differentiated from the U.S. cattle herd in the event one is discovered to have BSE. The task would not be difficult or expensive.
“The estimated cost to identify Canadian cattle here is less than $35 per head, and this relatively modest cost is more than offset by the benefits,” Bullard pointed out. “Failing to track these animals will cost the U.S. cattle industry about $90 million per year, while it would only cost about $10 million to go ahead and track them now. Tracking them might even help open some of our lost export markets.
North Dakota recently conducted a traceback of the Canadian herd cohorts, as defined by USDA, of the first Canadian cow discovered with BSE in May 2003,” he explained. “Every head of cattle that enters the U.S. has a specifically numbered international health certificate. By reviewing those certificates maintained in the office of the North Dakota State Veterinarian, North Dakota was able to determine the premises that received these imported cattle within a matter of weeks.
“Additionally, the numbers on these international health certificates may be readily associated with subsequent U.S. brucellosis ear tags affixed by U.S. veterinarians upon interstate shipment of these imported animals,” Bullard continued. “And last but not least, an industry survey coordinated effort by APHIS (USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), state veterinary offices and U.S. cattle producers could be used to identify a large percentage of these Canadian imports.
R-CALF USA believes the U.S. beef supply is safe, but we also realize the United States is exposing itself to an unnecessary risk by not identifying these animals imported from a BSE-affected country like Canada.
“USDA, basically, has ignored its responsibilities, because prior to Canada’s detection of BSE in 2003, USDA’s policy was to identify all of the previously imported animals from countries affected by BSE,” Bullard explained. “In fact, in 1993, when Canada discovered BSE in an animal imported from the United Kingdom, USDA immediately began to identify all UK-origin cattle that had been imported into the United States. The USDA also did the same for all Japanese cattle imported prior to the detection of BSE in Japan.
“It’s also unfortunate that USDA maintains the stance that it is rare to find another BSE-infected animal in the same herd as a BSE-positive animal,” Bullard noted. “That’s just not always the case.”
It is important to realize that approximately 35 percent of the UK cattle herds had one case of BSE, while another 16 percent of the herds had two cases, and that the remainder of the UK cattle herds had three or more cases of BSE. One herd had 124 cases of BSE in its midst (see http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/statistics/bse/con-cases.htm).
In low-dose scenarios in North America, and in UK cattle born after the complete feed ban was implemented, one still cannot rule out multiple BSE cases in a single herd. The likelihood is definitely lower, but cannot be eliminated. This is demonstrated by the multiple cohort cases born after the complete feed ban in the U.K. The incubation periods will be longer and the ranges wider, which means that culling and testing immediately after the death of the index case is less likely to find positives – partly because the animals need to be closer to clinical onset before they are detectable by testing, but also because there is still a likelihood that other infected animals will have been slaughtered long before the index case is found, especially if it was relatively old when found.
The mature Canadian bull was 79 months old when it was discovered to have BSE, according to documents from the Canadian government.
The target cattle population for BSE testing in the current USDA program – which has been whittled down by about 90 percent – is adult cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age that either show clinical signs consistent with BSE, or those that are dead or non-ambulatory.
R-CALF USA believes USDA is missing perhaps the most important indicator of risk for BSE, and that is the country of origin of the animal because the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) classifies a country’s disease status based on the risk of whether a particular nation has BSE in its native cattle herd.
“The place of birth of the animal is scientifically recognized as the key factor for determining where the disease originated and whether the disease poses a risk to other animals, and the OIE’s health code only recommends a change in disease status for countries with BSE in their native herds,” Bullard pointed out. “Specifically, OIE suggests that countries consider testing cattle that are identifiable as imported from countries affected by BSE.
R-CALF USA membership policy states: “R-CALF USA requests USDA to immediately enlist the support of State Veterinary Officials, Tribal Officials, and brand inspectors, where applicable, to begin identifying all imported cattle that have entered the United States during the past 10 years and to permanently mark all such imported cattle with a recognizable and visible mark of origin. R-CALF USA shall work with Congress or the U.S. Department of Treasury through rule process or legislation to immediately remove livestock from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s J-List, thereby requiring all imported cattle to be marked with a mark of origin as a condition of entry into the United States.