Japan confirms 30th mad cow case

[spinbaby]

I found this to be rather startling because I wasn't aware that Japan had a mad-cow problem.


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TOKYO - Japan's Agriculture Ministry said Monday it confirmed the country's 30th case of mad cow disease.

Tests on the 5-year-old dairy cow performed at the National Institute of Animal Health confirmed that the cow, which died at a ranch on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, was infected with the fatal illness.

The animal will be destroyed and incinerated so its parts will not be circulated for consumption or used as feed, the ministry said.

Japan has now confirmed 30 animals infected with the fatal illness — known formally as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE — since the first case in Japan was detected in 2001.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/japan_mad_cow

[warrens]

1. They didn't start a feed ban until 2001

Four years after us. And they were buying some REALLY bad feed to get the most protein for the buck, since they can't raise their own feed and have to bring it in by boat. They're going to find a lot more cases.

[athena]

2. Japan tests ALL cows.

Japan does not have a mad-cow problem that is any bigger than anyone else's. They find more cases than the U.S. simply because they test all slaughtered cows. The U.S. tests less than 2% of cows.

Check out the following:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/missed071805.cfm
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/NEWS/06/0515madcow.html

[acmejack]

3. Exactly-Here, ignorance is bliss.

Give it time. Actually, I am amazed the detection ratio was as high as stated in your Organic Consumers link.

[Kagemusha]

5. Well the feed ban being later can't have helped.

The public there is anxious about mad cow for good reason based on that. Really entrenched, politically powerful farmers etc...

But, it's not like the US' feed ban is airtight or the testing is airtight either..! At least Japan's catching its problem cows. Britain's problems have come down a lot too thanks to well, finally acting when the public panic was overwhelming (and though I'm no fan of panic in general, in this case it's the only thing that got the govt to get off its fat ass and do something for real)...

[cui bono]

4. k & r

[OnyxCollie]

6. Nothing to worry about.

The gubbmint's got it covered, along with global warming, air quaility at ground zero, oceanic fish population, Iraq war, etc.

Do I need to add this?:sarcasm: