At least 110 cows considered at risk for mad cow disease, most likely entered the food chain for human consumption.
That is the latest from federal agricultural officials over the weekend. "There is probably no risk from these cows - but they may be in the food
supply," said Madelaine Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Seattle PI:
seattlepi.nwsource.com
It seems the local people around the farms and ranches where the cow came from, are just as upset. With the country nervous the locals around Mabton,
Washington are more worried about a hardship to the beef industry. Steve Erickson, president of the Washington Cattlefeeders Association, flipped
burgers at the rally and defended his industry.
"There are many obstacles you can't always control, but we feel we have a nutritious, healthy product, and what we're fighting is emotional
perception," Erickson said. "The American beef supply is the safest in the world."
Seattle PI:
seattlepi.nwsource.com
The Latest Numbers:
In 2001, 81 cattle were imported to Washington state from Alberta, Canada. One of those cows tested positive for BSE. Know they could have shared
contaminated feed when they were young, the USDA has been tracking...
81 IMPORTED
10 MABTON FARM (including the one known to be infected with BSE)
7 QUINCY FARM (possible cows from the import, USDA checking)
2 MATTAWA (at a finishing farm here)
62 MISSING (remain unaccounted for)
The MABTON Breakdown:
258 cows on Mabton Farm are identified as "at risk".
129 of those to be euthanised over the next week.
110 were at some point culled from the farm, officials are trying to figure out where they are and if the entered the food.
19 should be on the farm, but aren't. There are no records either.
On the Sunnyside Farm near the Oregon border, 450 cows euthanised and buried in a landfill, because one of the infected cows calves was there, but did
not have a ID tag on it's ear. The whole herd had to be killed.
Needless to say, better tracking methods and record keeping need to be put in place.
Comments?
[Edited on 12-1-2004 by SkepticOverlord]