RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP)--The longer feed restrictions to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy stay in effect in the United States and Canada, the less likely more cases of the disease will be found in either country, according to Sam Holland, state veterinarian.

In 1997, both countries banned using cattle remains in cattle feed, which is considered the primary way BSE is spread. Until the ban, meat and bone meal from cattle often were added to feed.

Holland, also head of the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, said most cows, even dairy cows, aren't kept much past 10 years of age, so in three years, almost any animals that ate contaminated feed before the bans were enacted should have been slaughtered.

Scientists say the disease usually doesn't appear in infected animals until they are 30 months or older. "Every year that goes by, we can take another deep breath," Holland said.

The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund had asked whether Canada's feed ban is properly enforced. R-CALF and some other farm groups oppose the Bush administration's proposal to reopen the U.S. border to live Canadian cattle and to processed beef from Canadian cattle of all ages.

Holland said he thinks the Canadian ban is working because no young cattle have been found with BSE. No cow originating in the United States has been found with BSE.

The veterinarian said he has some reservations about reopening the border, including its effect on the U.S. market, which could make it harder to practice good animal-health measures.

If the border is reopened, each Canadian cow that comes into the United States should be tracked to slaughter to ensure it doesn't get into the breeding herd, Holland said.

Mark Dopp of the American Meat Association, which represents meat packing companies, criticized R-CALF's objections to Canadian beef as "fear mongering."

The association says all Canadian cattle should be allowed into the United States because the two countries now have almost identical rules for testing and dealing with potential cases of BSE.

"Calling Canadian beef unsafe is like calling your twin sister ugly," Dopp said.

Date: 1/27/05

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