Mad Cow Might Have Come From U.S.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says in a report released on Wednesday that an unusually large group of cows were imported from the United States shortly before animal protein was banned from cattle feed.

"Canada cannot, to date, exclude the possibility that the index case itself derived through this huge, unique importation," the report says.

The CFIA says 25,000 pregnant cows came to Canada from the United States in 1997.

A single cow was found in May to have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease.

That single case has paralyzed the Canadian beef industry. The U.S. border – and others – slammed shut at the news of the case.

Despite an extensive investigation that found no trace of BSE elsewhere in the Canadian cattle industry, the federal and provincial governments have been unable to persuade Washington to reopen the border.

Japan and South Korea have been demanding that any beef sent from the United States to their markets be certified not to have any Canadian connection.

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/2003/07/03/madcow_us030703

Written by CBC News Online staff