Extend cull – MLCboss
Extend cull – MLCboss
MEAT and Livestock Commission chairman, Don Curry, has called for an immediate extension to the selective cull, to take account of any possible maternal transmission of BSE.
Mr Curry, speaking at the British Veterinary Associations congress in Edinburgh, said there was evidence that maternal transmission played a small part in the BSE outbreak. Even though it would have little effect on prolonging the epidemic, and had no implications for human safety, there was still a need to cull animals at risk, however small that risk, he said.
And, if the country hoped to make progress on getting the beef export ban lifted then every possible action had to be seen to be taken to eradicate the disease. Mr Curry called on government to extend the selective cull immediately, to include all cattle born since Aug 1, 1996 whose dams have subsequently developed BSE.
An announcement from MAFF about extending the cull, linked to a formal proposal for a date-based export scheme, is believed to be imminent. *