News Releases for April 2004
April 8, 2004
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Hoeven Urges USDA To Maintain Ban On Live Cattle Imports From Canada
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven in written comments Wednesday pressed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to withdraw a proposed USDA rule allowing the importation of live cattle to the United States.
“I urge careful and reasoned consideration of plans to reauthorize importation of Canadian ruminants into the United States,” Hoeven said. “Until all proper safety measures have been fully implemented, the risk of additional negative economic impact on our farms and ranches is simply too great to consider resuming importation from Canada, a country that has already been the confirmed home to BSE infected animals.”
Hoeven cited the fact that Canada plans to test a relatively small number of cattle this year for BSE, and urged a regimen based on scientific fact. He said a recent trip to Taiwan and Japan included an effort to convince health and agriculture officials in those countries to consider importing American beef again based on the intensive regiment of the USDA in investigating the BSE discovery and in establishing an enhanced surveillance and plan for testing animals.
“Our country’s commitment to test more than 226,000 animals in the high risk population is not being mirrored in Canada,” Hoeven said. “In fact, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency intends to test only 8,000 animals over the next twelve months and, that number only if funding is available. This remarkably low number of tested animals must be brought in line with a ratio similar to the US testing plan.”
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