What are the results of USDA’s investigation so far?
On January 6, 2003, USDA announced that DNA evidence verified, with a high degree of certainty, that the BSE positive cow found in the state of Washington did in fact originate from a dairy farm in Alberta, Canada. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Heath Inspection Service (APHIS) and Canadian officials have determined that the index animal was approximately 6-1/2 years old at the time of slaughter. The age of the animal is significant because she would have been born before feed bans were implemented in North America in August 1997. The feed bans prohibit the inclusion of mammalian protein in feed intended for other ruminants to eat. This practice has been identified time and time again as the primary means by which BSE is spread. The index cow had three calves while in the United States. The first was stillborn. The second, a yearling heifer, is among 129 animals from the index farm being depopulated. The third, a bull calf, was among the group of calves depopulated January 6. The herd the
