- NISKU, Alta. (CP) -- The
Alberta farmer who originally owned the animal diagnosed with mad cow disease
in Washington state says all cows should be tested for the brain-wasting
illness.
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- "The only way we're going to prove to the international
market that we are concerned about it would be to test all animals,"
Wayne Forsberg said at a news conference Thursday.Forsberg also said the
province took a step backward when it privatized cattle-testing and made
the service costly for farmers.
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- It would be money well spent if every animal were tested
- not just for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for
mad cow disease - but for other conditions as well, Forsberg said.
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- "It's going to cost money, but when ... they're
talking about $60 million (for cattle-testing) for the province of Alberta,
well, that's a pretty small price in the comparison of things," he
said.
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- "Even if we (producers) have to pay for it ourselves
... $30 an animal is cheap compared to the $300 we're losing right now."
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- Alberta's chief veterinarian, Dr. Gerald Ollis, questioned
whether the province should provide free testing to producers.
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- "One could argue that's a cost of doing business,"
he said. "If I had animals that were sick and dying on my farm, I
think it's my responsibility to look into the cause of the disease."
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- Ollis also questioned the need for more testing.
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- Forsberg said tests should be performed on Canadian cattle
born both before and after a 1997 ban on cattle feed containing remains
from other cattle. He said that is especially important given the latest
mad cow crisis and a proposed U.S. law for mandatory country-of-origin
labelling of beef products.
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- In Ottawa, federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller said
testing for mad cow disease will be increased to about 8,000 cattle a year
from the current 5,500. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and Saskatchewan Agriculture
Minister Clay Serby have also suggested increased testing may be necessary.
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- The U.S. government announced the country's first case
of mad cow disease just before Christmas. The infected cow, which was born
on the Forsberg farm south of Edmonton, was later purchased by a dairy
farm in Washington state.
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- The Forsbergs, who both grew up on farms, started their
dairy operation in 1965. They had to sell their 111 cattle in 2001 after
Forsberg was diagnosed with meningitis - a disease which has cost him his
hands and feet.
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- The two now live on a beef cattle farm run by one of
their four children.
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- Forsberg and his wife, Shirley, defended their farming
practices before a wall of cameras, microphones and notebooks.
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- They said the animal must have contracted mad cow from
contaminated feed before the feed ban was in effect. They acknowledged
the cow probably contracted BSE on their farm, but stressed they followed
all proper procedures.
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- "We did not do anything wrong. The feed companies
did not do anything wrong," said Shirley Forsberg.
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- "As far as we're concerned, we fed legal feed in
an approved manner."
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- The couple couldn't provide details about the feed they
used. Wayne Forsberg blended his own feed mix from components from Canadian
and U.S. sources.
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- The Forsbergs deplored attempts to blame BSE solely on
Canada.
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- "I think it's a North American problem," said
Shirley. "I don't think it can be confined to Canada."
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- Still, it was a blow to learn the cow that is causing
the latest concern came from their farm - news the Forsbergs got on Boxing
Day.
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- "Oh no, not us," was their reaction.
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- This week's DNA results that confirmed the cow's origin
ended their hopes the original conclusion was wrong.
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- "We were hoping that it wasn't, but we were proved
wrong and we have to accept it," Wayne Forsberg said.
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- "(It's been) a terrific amount of stress."
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- He said he regrets that giving cattle feed derived from
other cattle was ever an accepted practice.
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- "I don't think that's right and it probably never
has been right. That would make me, if it was on the human side of it,
a cannibal. That should never happen."
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- © The Canadian Press, 2004
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- http://www.cjad.com/content/cjad_news/article.asp?id=n010847A
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