First Cdn Mad Cow found

With great sadness it was reported yesterday by Wired of all places that Canada has had it's first case of Mad Cow disease in a decade. The case is that of an 8 year old cow on a farm in Alberta, who was slaughtered because it was thought to have pneumonia, with later testing finding it had Mad Cow. The disease is well know for it's wild spread throughout Britain a few years back causing a large portion of that countries livestock to be slaughtered and burned in one of the most controversial act of the Blair government to date. "Authorities will trace the origin of the cow and how and where it was as part of an investigation into any possible spread of the disease, Canadian Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief said. They have also quarantined the farm and will "depopulate" the herd that the new case is from, along with any other herds that come into question. Alberta is Canada's main cattle province, with almost 40 percent of the industry. Last year, Canada exported 1.7 million heads of live cattle and 373,000 tons of beef product with a total value of $2.5 billion to the United States."