Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 30/03) - Following the discover of a cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Alberta last week, the United States slapped a ban on all Canadian beef, but carried the ban further to include all hooved animals.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said in a statement that country has banned all ruminants and their products. A ruminant is any hoofed animal that chews a cud, including muskox.

"USDA is placing Canada under its BSE restriction guidelines and will not accept any ruminants or ruminant products from Canada pending further investigation," Veneman said.

While satisfied the outbreak has been contained, the USDA dispatched their own team of experts to advise and oversee the inspection process.

"I have spoken with Canada's Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lyle Vanclief a short time ago about Canada's investigation and feel that all appropriate measures are being taken in what appears to be an isolated case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy,"

"Information suggests that risk to human health and the possibility of transmission to animals in the United States is very low."

The ban at the border stopped a $34,000 shipment of Southampton caribou bound for the U.S. and could cost the Nunavut government upwards of $400,000, but the ban will have little or no effect on the Banks Island muskox.

Patrick Schmidt, vice- president of business development at the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, said last year's harvest was sold outright to Kitikmeot Foods and IDC does very little business across the border.

"A few weeks of muskox sales to the States will have very little impact," Schmidt said.

With the exception of a little hay, Schmidt said, all of the muskox graze naturally on Banks Island.

He feels the ban is out of line, but will likely be lifted before they could do anything about it.

"If we put some time and effort into it, we could probably get it removed right away," Schmidt said. "If there were an economic impact that we could measure, I'd definitely take it up, but I just don't see the need."

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease is a progressive, fatal disease of the central nervous system in cattle.

It is what is known as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). BSE is spread by animal-based feed inadvertently containing tissue from infected cows and sheep, BSE emerged in the United Kingdom in the 1980s.

Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk, and Creutzfelt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans.