01/30/2006

Cattlemen’s Organizations Call For Halt of Canadian Live Cattle, Beef Imports and Japanese Beef Imports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken no action to halt the import of live cattle or beef from Canada

In a historic action, cattlemen’s organizations from across the nation have united in a joint press release calling for the halt of Canadian live cattle and beef imports and Japanese beef imports into the U.S.

The following position statement can be attributed to the leadership of the organizations listed above.

"On Monday, January 23, Canadian officials confirmed the nation’s fifth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The case involves a six year-old crossbred cow located in Alberta born after the 1997 Canadian feed ban was implemented. During the same time period Japanese officials confirmed the twenty-second case of BSE in that nation.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken no action to halt the import of live cattle or beef from Canada, nor has the agency taken steps to halt the import of Japanese beef into the U.S.

"The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommends that nations that have not yet identified any cases of BSE should test at least 187,000 cattle consecutively just to determine if they have the disease, regardless of the size of the country’s cattle herd. Canada has only tested approximately 90,000 head since the discovery of its first case of BSE in 2003. After discovering four confirmed cases of BSE, Canada tested only 57,000 cattle during the calendar year 2005, an amount insufficient to meet the minimal testing requirements recommended by the OIE.

"The prevalence of BSE in Canada is not clear and will not be until Canadian authorities adopt an aggressive surveillance program.

"USDA’s action to permit the importation of cattle and beef from countries with a known BSE problem abandons all historical protocol implemented to protect the U.S. cattle industry and beef supply. As a result, the U.S. now has some of the lowest import standards in the world. We must restore the high standards that caused U.S. beef to be considered the safest in the world.

"USDA refused to permit independent companies to blanket test slaughter cattle for BSE. As a result, Japanese markets were closed to U.S. beef for two years, draining billions of dollars from the U.S. cattle and beef industries.

"On Friday, January 20 Japanese officials closed markets to U.S. beef imports. This action stems from a single U.S. meat processor violating trade regulations. In an effort to protect consumers and preserve consumer confidence in the domestic beef supply the Japanese government took definitive and immediate action. Despite discovery of Japan’s twenty-second case of BSE, the U.S. continues to accept beef imports from Japan derived from cattle of any age and any breed, without a required BSE surveillance program.

"U.S. consumers continue to be subjected to beef that is a co-mingled product and sold without a country of origin label attached, preventing consumers from making a choice to purchase U.S. beef, and precluding U.S. cattlemen from differentiating their product in retail cases.

"The U.S. has tested more than half a million high-risk cattle and, according to USDA claims that have not been verified through the public release of specific information, has discovered only one case of BSE in an animal born long before the feed ban was implemented.

"U.S. cattle producers are serious about preserving consumer confidence in U.S. beef and we consider our domestic and international consumers our first priority. American ranchers have worked diligently to provide a proven, safe product. Compromising that reputation is unacceptable.

"Therefore, we call upon the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Congress for the following:

~Halt the importation of live cattle and beef from Canada until Canada can prove the prevalence of BSE in its herd and can provide proper assurances that the feed ban has been properly enforced.

~Halt beef trade with Japan until international trade standards are harmonized.

~Immediately provide independent companies with the opportunity to blanket test cattle for BSE for both domestic consumption and export purposes.

~Immediately implement mandatory country of origin labeling.