Mad Cows in Spanish Capital
MADRID, SPAIN - The regional Environment ministry for Madrid has issued a statement to say that a 10-year-old cow from a farm in Galapagar diagnosed with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) on 29 December, has been put down at a local slaughterhou...

New Rule May See Illegal Dumping
NEBRASKA, US - Nebraska's state veterinarian is among those worried dead cattle could be left to rot in windbreaks or ditches because of a federal regulation intended to prevent mad cow disease.

FSA Advises UK to Increase BSE Testing Age
UK - The Food Standards Agency today agreed to support a move to increase, from 30 months to 48 months, the age at which cattle slaughtered for human consumption are BSE tested. This decision was reached after the Board received assurances about the effectiveness...

BSE Variant More Virulent than Classical Form
MANHATTAN, US - An atypical prion strain of mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BS, is more virulent than the classical strain, according to a researcher who spoke Nov. 14 at Kansas State University.

New Mad Cow Rule Poses Health Dangers of its Own
US - A federal regulation aimed at preventing mad cow disease from getting into the food supply could create health risks of its own: many thousands of cattle carcasses rotting on farms, spreading germs, attracting vermin and polluting the water.

Korean Supermarkets Resume US Beef Sales
KOREA, SOUTH - Major South Korean discount retailers E-Mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart resumed selling imported US beef on Thursday this week.

Mad Cow Variant May be Transmissible to Humans
MANHATTAN, US - The classical form of mad cow disease and a variant manifest themselves differently, but research suggests that the variant may also be transmissible to humans, according a researcher speaking at Kansas State University.

Seoul Searches for Answers to Canadian BSE case
SOUTH KOREA - Seoul said it will deploy inspectors to Canada to investigate what caused the country's most recent case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, according to South Korean media reports.

Mad Cow in British Columbia
OTTAWA, CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a seven-year-old dairy cow from British Columbia. No part of the animal’s carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.

Confirmed Case of BSE in Meath Cow
IRELAND - The Department of Agriculture is investigating an outbreak of the cattle brain disease BSE in a five-year-old dairy cow in Meath during the week.

Real Value of Japan's One Trillion Yen BSE Tests
JAPAN - Questions about the effectiveness of Japan’s policy of testing 100 per cent of cattle for BSE were raised in a seminar hosted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

13th Mad Cow Case Blames Bad Feed
OTTAWA, CANADA - An official investigation into Canada's 13th case of mad cow disease said today infected feed was most likely to blame – the same reason given in many previous cases.

Brains pay in Australian BSE research
AUSTRALIA - The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries has doubled the money being offered for cattle and sheep brains, which are used to help prove Australia is free of mad cow disease.

Defra Consult on Rule Changes
UK - The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Assembly Government and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have today launched a joint consultation on proposals to raise the age above which cattle must be tested for BSE.

Mexico Lifts Ban on Alberta Cattle
MEXICO - Mexico has lifted a two-month old ban on imports of breeding cattle from Alberta, imposed following the discovery of Canada's 14th case of mad cow disease in the province

Delay to End of 48-month Limit Could Cost Millions
WALES, UK - The Farmers Union of Wales has reacted angrily to the decision by the Food Standards Agency to await a further report before raising the cattle BSE testing limit to 48 months.

USMEF: Fallacy of Overreliance on Testing
US - An overreliance on meaningless testing and a lack of focus on documenting the effectiveness of steps that are making significant inroads against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) are hindering a hungry world’s access to protein, driving up food...

Proposals to Reduce BSE Testing of Cattle
UK - The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) has been estimating the impact to human health of actioning proposals to reduce BSE testing of cattle slaughtered for food. This will be discussed at the FSA Board meeting today.

EU Raises BSE Cattle Testing Age to 48 Months
UK - EU animal health experts have raised the minimum age for testing cattle for mad cow disease in the EU's 15 'older' countries to 48 months, given fewer cases of the brain-wasting virus, the EU executive said on Tuesday.

Will Britain Back Relaxed EU ‘Mad Cow’ Testing Rules?
UK - Tough controls on beef that protect consumers from the human form of “mad cow” disease may be relaxed in Britain and across the Continent.