Cattle eat on a feedlot near Airdrie in Alberta, Canada in this, Jan. 12, 2005, file photo. The USDA failed to track hundreds of Canadian cattle coming into the U.S., according to audit by USDA’s inspector general. (AP Photo/CP, Jeff McIntosh, file)
by Stephen J. Hedges
Despite persistent fears of mad cow disease in Canadian beef, the Department of Agriculture has failed to properly track hundreds of Canadian cattle coming into the United States, the department's inspector general has concluded.
An audit, completed in March but only recently made public, said that some of the imported cattle did not have proper identification or health records despite federal regulations requiring them.
The audit did not say how many cattle were improperly brought into the U.S. and inspector general spokesman Paul Feeney said auditors are not sure of that number. The report said that a lack of records meant that "it cannot be determined" whether shipments other than those discovered "have bypassed inspection or whether this is a systemic problem."
About 1 million cattle were imported into the U.S. from Canada in the fiscal year ending in September 2006, the period covered by the audit.
The audit mainly faulted Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service for failing to properly check records as the cattle crossed the Canadian border.
"APHIS does not adequately track live animal imports and, if problems are detected, does not collectively analyze import violations," the report said. "Additional controls are needed at northern ports-of-entry to obtain stronger assurance that all animal shipments are inspected."
Mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a disease that attacks a cow's nervous system. Medical researchers also believe that humans who eat meat infected with BSE can contract a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is fatal.
When mad cow was first discovered in Canada in 2003, the USDA cut off all Canadian cattle imports, as did many other countries.
But despite years of precautions, Canada continues to discover cases in which cows have BSE. In June, Canada discovered its 13th BSE case.
Read the full story about the USDA and imported cattle in today's Chicago Tribune.
• 
• 
• 
Comments
The chances of getting this are very slim. Only three cases of infected cows found in the U.S. and those all had ties out of the country... we remove certain parts of the cow we suspect to be infected. We stopped feeding animal parts to livestock some years ago.
If you look this up on a VEGAN site you will be scared and resort to eating veggies only. I'll continue with my steaks.
Posted by: Teresa | July 23, 2008 7:55 AM
This is surely Obama's fault.
Posted by: a blinkin | July 23, 2008 9:54 AM
Sorry Blinkin-your premature, he's not PRESIDENT yet!
Posted by: Teresa | July 23, 2008 10:15 AM
Can I pin this incompetence on the Democrats somehow?
Posted by: stupid Republican | July 23, 2008 10:58 AM
Am I the only person who has no faith in the USDA ? Other countries check each and every head of cattle that goes to slaughter. We don't do it for one simple reason... MONEY. Someone looses money on it and that is more important than having a safe beef supply. Yes, there has only been a small number of infected cattle found, but compare the number that get checked against the number that don't...... then wonder for yourself if what you are eating is safe.
Posted by: TimP | July 23, 2008 11:29 AM
With Obama as president, we will know precisely where every head of cattle is located at all times throughout the world. Our food will never be unsafe.
Obama '08
Posted by: JB | July 23, 2008 3:18 PM
After I brought up the issue of 'mad cow' recently, a very good friend of my sister's, an elderly gentlemen in his 70's, told me that his brother is/was a mid-western farmer who use to import numerous cattle from Canada over the years. Many of these imported cattle were BSE infected, for which his brother had to 'sue across the border' about. He told me that his brother was diligent about incinerating and burying his infected cattle, but that he knew many a neighboring farmer who did not do the same, yet sent their BSE infected cattle straight to slaughter, knowingly! And all in the name of profit.
It's not hard to imagine how many more unscrupulous farmers have done the same. I don't care how many zillions of time this Government- the FDA and the USDA keep making claims that there have only been 3 cases of Mad Cow in the US...I believe it's a flat out lie...BSE is in our meat supply and people are dying horrendous deaths (CJD) because of it, only it's rarely being reported.
They call it 'sporadic' meaning no route or source...anything other than 'variant' vCJD...but as far as I'm concerned, after all I've been reading about this, it's all the same to me...and it's stems from our MEAT supply.
'Don't look, don't find' that's their motto! Big Agribusiness is fearful of what they will find were we to test all US Cattle for BSE.
American's need to DEMAND Mandatory BSE testing on ALL U.S./Imported Cattle!
"Highly unlike one would be infected" NOT! Go to this link and read stories of 66 people who have died of CJD, many from the US.
The Many Faces Of CJD -
http://www.fortunecity.com/healthclub/cpr/798/cjd.htm
Posted by: my2cnz | July 23, 2008 5:14 PM
JB-right on....I'm starting to see why everyone keeps calling him the Messiah....he IS , all things to all man!
My2-and your point is? Are you saying we will be much safer with Obama? I have a friend that worked in a meat packing company, can't repeat everything I know, but not as many people die as you might think would.
Govt regulation, according to my connection, had haulted operations in such a rediculous way, that all the employees were crying foul.
I use to eat bites of raw hamburger as a kid. Regs are tougher now then back then . We can only do what we can do. I still eat my meat med rare, don't plan to change that. Percentage wise, and chances being rare of ever getting it.....you live your life and move on.
Posted by: Teresa | July 24, 2008 4:47 AM