MLC says Laceys evidence is unscientific

18 March 1998

MLC says Laceys evidence is ‘unscientific’

By FWi staff

EXPERTS from the Meat and Livestock Commission have slammed evidence presented to the BSE Inquiry by Professor Richard Lacey as “totally unsubstantiated” and “unscientific”.

Prof Lacey claims that the BSE epidemic is dying out only because diseased cattle are being buried “on a massive scale”.

But Mike Attenborough, MLC technical director, said that such an idea is ridiculous. “None of what Lacey has said appears to be in any way substantiated or in agreement with the independent scientific committee on BSE,” he said.

The number of reported BSE cases has dropped from more than 36,000 in 1992 to less than 4,000 last year. This shows a “definite link to the ban on mammalian remains being used in feed,” Mr Attenborough added.