Martin urges Japan to end beef ban
CANADA - Prime Minister Paul Martin is pushing his Japanese counterpart to open the country to Canadian beef as the men kicked off the first Canada-Japan meeting of leaders in six years. Canadian officials said that the Prime Minister was making his...

New BSE case heightens border fears
CANADA - Fear and worry surrounding a second case of BSE found in an Alberta dairy cow Jan. 2 barely had time to settle before a third case of the disease was found in a central Alberta cow Jan. 11. Only this time, alarm bells have sounded with the...

U.S. ranchers to inspect Alberta cattle facilities
ALBERTA - Ranchers from the largest cattlemen's group in the U.S. will embark on a fact-finding mission next week to cattle facilities in Alberta. Nine ranchers from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association will visit the province's slaughterhouses...

BSE's collateral damage: sales of pork, sheep, goats
CANADA - Linda Knechtel is the sultan of swine. Working out of the Best Little Pork Shoppe in the one-light hamlet of Shakespeare, she has peddled pickled boneless pork hocks, meaty back ribs and sausage-stuffed pork steaks for 18 years to thousands...

Test all cattle to end BSE scare
CANADA - I've read numerous reports that the cattle here in Canada that contracted BSE more than likely were fed contaminated feed. If that is the case where did this feed come from? According to British customs officials potentially contaminated feed...

Canada's Top Vet Says Mad Cow Cull Not Good Science
CANADA - Canada's chief veterinarian said culling older cattle would not be ``scientifically valid'' and an inappropriate weapon against the spread of mad cow disease. "To implement a massive cull at this point would not be consistent with the information...

Canada doing damage control over BSE
CANADA - Canada is in full damage control mode over the latest mad cow scare, as concerns about Canadian beef mounted on both sides of the border. News that another Alberta cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) provided more...

Two mad cows in 10 days a coincidence-Canada vet
CANADA - Finding two cases of mad cow disease in 10 days is a coincidence and does not indicate a growing problem with bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada, the country's chief veterinarian said on Tuesday. Source: Reuters

Canadian BSE probe suggests 38 cattle at risk
CANADA - Investigators of Canada's second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) have determined that 38 cattle might have been exposed to the same feed as the infected cow and that one of those was exported to the United States. Source:...

Canada confirms its second case of BSE
CANADA - Canada has confirmed its second case of BSE. The affected dairy cow was born in the province of Alberta, just like the only other cases of mad cow disease discovered in North America: one in Canada in 2003 and one in the US in the same year....

Alberta farm identified as home of 'mad cow'
ALBERTA - A farm near Barrhead, Alberta, northwest of Edmonton, has been identified as the home of Canada's most recently identified mad cow. In an interview with the Edmonton Sun, farmer Allan Degner said he hopes that, by voluntarily identifying his...

Beef industry plays BSE waiting game
CANADA - Plans to reopen the U.S. border to live Canadian cattle in March are being met with local skepticism. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last Thursday that Canada is now considered a minimal-risk country, meaning the U.S. could...

Latest BSE case is reminder of need for animal ID, says e-tag maker
CANADA - The confirmation on Sunday of a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 10-year-old Canadian dairy cow reinforces the need for a comprehensive, reliable and effective livestock tracking system, according to Kevin McGrath, CEO...

New BSE case unlikely to affect Canadian beef consumption
CANADA - Beef consumption in Canada is unlikely to be affected by the confirmation of a second case of mad cow disease, or BSE. That's according to assistant chief vet of Alberta, Gerald Howe. Mr Howe says the age of the infected animal has been revised...

Canadians confirm BSE case
CANADA - Canadian authorities have now confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an older dairy cow suspected last week of having the disease. Canada's second BSE case does not indicate an increased risk for food safety, wrote the...

Alberta farm quarantined as BSE case confirmed
CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quarantined an Alberta farm where they believe that a dairy cow infected with mad cow disease was born. Agriculture officials refused to provide any details about the farm or its owners. They would only...

Another Canadian cow may have BSE
CANADA - The United States still plans to open the border to Canadian cattle in early March despite the discovery of a potential new case of mad-cow disease in Alberta, technically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. However, conclusive results...

Additional BSE support for producers
CANADA - The provincial government has announced $1.8 million in support for producers of other ruminants including sheep, goat, elk, deer and bison impacted by BSE. "We recognize that the whole of Saskatchewan’s ruminant livestock industry has been...

Secret tests reveal cattle feed contaminated by animal parts
CANADA - A series of secret tests on cattle feed conducted by the federal government earlier this year found that more than half the feed tested contained animal parts not listed on the ingredients, according to internal documents obtained by The Vancouver...

Cuba Opens to Canadian Beef, Nears Agreement on Live Cattle
CANADA - The Government of Canada today announced that Cuba has agreed to re-open its border to a broad range of Canadian beef products. The agreement to resume trade follows extensive discussions between Canadian and Cuban animal health and food safety...