ChimpCo To Relax Downer Cattle Ban - Reuters

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "The Bush administration said on Friday it may allow some injured cattle to be slaughtered for human food, easing a regulation that the Agriculture Department adopted 15 months ago after the nation's first case of mad cow disease.

Consumer groups said they oppose any changes in regulations aimed at keeping the deadly disease out of the food supply.

The USDA prohibited all so-called downer cattle -- those too sick or injured to walk -- from being slaughtered for human food soon after a Washington state dairy cow was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003. The ban was part of a package of tighter USDA regulations to prevent mad cow disease, whose symptoms can include an inability to walk.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns suggested that the ban on downer cattle may be eased after the USDA completes an enhanced surveillance program of U.S. cattle later this year. "There is a compelling argument: If you've got an animal that's clearly under 30 months that broke a leg in transit, there is no threat of BSE whatsoever," Johanns told reporters after addressing the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. "Why are we doing this? I'm going to thoughtfully consider those arguments," he added."

EDIT

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=8198234

[acmavm]

1. Fine, then this should be the beef that the bush** family gets served for

dinner. I understand that they like barbeque.

[bullimiami]

3. ill bet you a pile that the bush family doesnt eat typical store beef

its probably the most free range, organic, expensive, carefully examined beef there is.

they dont want to take chances with little chimpy.

[FloridaPat]

2. The day that happens I turn into a vegetarian. What a bunch of crap.

They only reason they found that one cow with BSE is that the gov't pays $15 a brain for cows for testing. They were short that day at the slaughter house, so they threw in the brain of an old cow just for the money. The rest of her went into the food chain.