The Canadian government has defended its imposition of a partial ban on U.S. beef shipments, suggesting that other countries that have blocked shipments entirely are overreacting to the threat posed by BSE and may even be hurting global efforts to fight it.
Some countries, especially in Asia, that banned Canadian beef after a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was found in Alberta last May, have now taken parallel measures against the United States after BSE was found in a single cow in Washington state earlier this week.
Federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller announced on Wednesday only a limited ban on U.S. shipments, including some processed meats. Canada is continuing to allow imports of products and animals it considers safe, especially boneless beef from cattle no older than 30 months at slaughter, live cattle destined for immediate slaughter and dairy products.
Canada's calibrated response is not just because, in the words of one official, it is "walking the walk" -- acting as it felt other countries should have acted when BSE was found in Canada. Sweeping bans serve little purpose but to whip up irrational fears among the public, officials said.
"Let's look at what is really going to solve the problem on a global level," Brian Evans, chief veterinary officer at the Canadian Food Inspection Service, said in an interview.
"We're not doing any service to the public if government just closes borders. . . . One shouldn't use this disease to restrict legitimate trade in safe products."
Simply put, Ottawa feels the wide-ranging bans placed on its products last May were unfair, including the ban by the United States, and that Canada's targeted response this week backs up that position.
Full bans can be counterproductive, officials say, by possibly discouraging countries from testing properly for BSE out of fear that a positive finding may lead to devastating economic consequences -- far beyond what might be the outcome if bans were imposed only on products that research specifically shows could pose a BSE risk.
Canadian sale of beef products to the United States resumed in September, but there is still no resumption of live cattle shipments. Ottawa was aiming to complete its application to Washington on Christmas Eve for renewed cattle sales, but the new BSE scare delayed this. The process is now expected to be completed next week, and a decision is likely in early 2004.
It remains unclear what impact the finding of BSE in the United States might have on cross-border shipments of Canadian cattle.
One major factor has been Japan, which had demanded that, if the United States lifts the ban on Canadian cattle, beef shipped from the United States to Japan would have to be stamped with its North American country of origin -- an additional and costly requirement. Now that Japan has banned U.S. beef, in addition to banning Canadian beef, this is no longer a factor in Washington's decision.
On the other hand, the United States exports about 10 per cent of its beef, and most of those markets closed their doors this week. Some U.S. producers may place pressure on Washington to continue the ban on Canadian cattle as they adjust to the loss of export markets by trying to sell more at home.
Meanwhile, numerous Canadian officials are expected to travel to the United States in the next few days to help their U.S counterparts cope with the aftermath of the BSE finding.
Since the BSE finding in Alberta last May, Ottawa and the provinces have significantly increased the amount of testing done for BSE: cattle that show neurological signs of BSE, cattle that are diseased or dying and healthy animals at slaughter. Last year, Canada tested about 3,500 cattle, which roughly corresponds with the 20,000 tested in the United States after taking into account the size of the each country's cattle population.
Those figures are in sharp contrast with Europe, where as much as 15 per cent of the cattle population is tested. France, for example, tested 1.7 million animals in the first seven months of 2003.
Dr. Evans cautioned, however, that the widespread prevalence of BSE in Britain after 1986 makes Europe's situation exceptional. While BSE has now been found in Canada and the United States, the situation is still hardly on a scale with what transpired in Europe.
