Wednesday, May 21, 2003
CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
DORGAN WANTS ANSWERS FROM CANADA ON MAD COW DISEASE
Supports Secretary Veneman’s Suspension of Canadian Beef Shipments
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) wants to know why it took the Canadian government four months to learn that a cow killed in Canada in January was infected with mad cow disease. In a speech on the Senate floor this morning, Dorgan said the delay represents a “grave threat” to the U.S. beef industry and makes clear there is something “dreadfully wrong” with Canada’s livestock health monitoring or reporting systems.
“Our beef producers and consumers can’t rely on a system that has a four month lag between identification of a sick animal and a diagnosis that the animal is infected with mad cow disease,” Dorgan said. “A process this slow and ineffective is guaranteed to undermine our beef industry and erode consumer confidence.”
“I see two possibilities here. Either it took the Canadian government a third of a year to run the pathology reports and make the diagnosis of mad cow disease, or information was withheld, which is even worse news. Neither case is acceptable.” Dorgan said he agrees with Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman’s decision to immediately suspend beef imports from Canada and is sending a letter to her today expressing his concerns and urging her to conduct an aggressive, thorough investigation. He said he wants to the Secretary to report promptly to Congress the results of the U.S. investigation of Canada’s handling of the case.
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