Beef ban called inconsistent

Washington Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday he is reviewing the continuing U.S. ban of older Canadian cattle, which are more susceptible to mad cow disease, while allowing imported meat from animals of any age.

The United States plans to resume imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months old beginning March 7. Last week, meatpackers asked a federal judge for an injunction to resume imports of older cattle, saying the ban has cost their industry more than $1.7 billion in revenue.

During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Johanns questioned whether it makes sense to allow beef from cattle of any age while restricting live imports to cattle younger than 30 months.

“As I started drilling down into this issue and asking for more information, the very issue that you’re talking to me about popped up on my radar screen, and I said, ‘Gosh, is there consistency in what we’re doing here?’ ” Johanns told Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

Because of the inconsistency, senators on Thursday introduced a bill to stop imports of meat from animals older than 30 months.

The United States banned all cattle and meat from Canada in May 2003 after the discovery of a cow infected with mad cow disease.

Two other infected cows turned up last month, after the Bush administration decided to reopen the Canadian border on March 7.

‘Water intoxication’ blamed for death

Chico, Calif. A California State University student died of “water intoxication” during hazing in the basement of a fraternity, authorities said Thursday.

Matthew Carrington, 21, died Wednesday while drinking water from a five-gallon jug and doing exercises at the Chi Tau house near the campus, said Chico Police Sgt. Dave Barrow.

An autopsy showed death was triggered by hyponatremia, a condition in which excess water in the body causes sodium levels in the blood to drop.

Water is then absorbed into the blood and fluid builds up in the brain.

Carrington’s is the second pledge death at Chico since 2000, when an 18-year-old died of alcohol poisoning. The university cut its ties to Chi Tau in 2002 because of “a series of increasing problems and complaints,” including excessive alcohol use and loud parties, a campus spokesman said.

Lava flows into ocean in two new spots

Volcano, Hawaii Lava from Kilauea volcano began dropping into the ocean at two new points this week, treating visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to a fiery show.

The lava began flowing into the Pacific on Monday at one spot that is about a mile and a half from a park ranger station. The second spot is on the far side of the park near the former town of Kalapana, which was covered by lava in 1990.

As lava hits the ocean, it can create crowd-pleasing explosions and fantastic views of red-hot flow.

The national park was established in 1916 and includes 13,677-foot high Mauna Loa, the world’s largest volcano, and Kilauea, which has been erupting continuously since Jan. 3, 1983.

Vanity gets the better of escaped buffalo

Rapid City, S.D. A buffalo that escaped from an auction ended up in a dressing room at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, where it spent a couple of hours staring into a mirror.

The buffalo jumped over a steel panel Sunday morning during the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, went down an alley and got into the dressing room reserved for visiting sports teams, said Brian Maliske, the civic center’s general manager.

“The door happened to be unlocked and he pushed the door open and went in,” Maliske said.

The crew conducting the Black Hills Classic Buffalo Sale decided to keep the animal locked in the dressing room for the rest of the auction. During its two-hour stay, it reportedly became fascinated with its image in a big mirror.

Once the sale had concluded, a rodeo crew member coaxed the buffalo out of the dressing room and back into captivity.