Animals from diseased herd slaughtered

DALLAS – Researchers hunting the herd linked to the first U.S. case of mad cow disease found most of the animals were slaughtered – and possibly in the human food supply – even before the government probe began.

The federal and state governments closed an investigation into the infected cow, which was raised at an unidentified Texas ranch, at the end of August.

But the Dallas Morning News obtained details about the search for the 413 cows and calves on Tuesday under a Texas Open Records request. About 350 of them, or roughly 85 percent, were sent for slaughter.

The reports, compiled for the Texas Animal Health Commission by a government employee, demonstrate how problematic it was to track the herd mates and progeny of the diseased cow.

The investigators’ searches for feed records, as well as “animals of interest” went back years. Many records were no longer available.

“If it were not for our brucellosis information and database, we would have had extraordinary difficulty in conducting this investigation,” said Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for animal health programs at the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Because the record keeping and identification process at the affected farm was lacking, inspectors had to trace 213 calves in their hunt to find two that were recently born to the diseased cow. They never were able to specifically identify the two calves, but did say that 208 of those investigated went into feed and slaughter channels, entering the food supply. Another four likely did. One calf was untraceable.

“If they’re fairly confident that the group they identified as the progeny was complete and if nearly all of them were slaughtered, chances are the progeny was eaten by a human being,” said Tom McGarity, a professor of food safety law at the University of Texas Law School and president of the Center for Progressive Regulation.

Those details give him pause, he said. While mad cow is not necessarily transmitted to offspring, it is “quite possible that a mad cow got in the food supply.”

Mad cow disease is associated with a chronic brain-wasting disease in humans called new-variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob. An infection can smolder for years before showing symptoms.

Coats and Jim Rogers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said there should be no fear of mad cow entering the human food supply.

Rogers said that regulations keep any possibly diseased cow out of the system. Coats said a veterinarian inspects cattle before slaughter and organs are inspected afterward to assure sick animals are not made into food.

“I’m very comfortable with our protection for the animal feed and the food supply. I think we have very thoughtful, considered rules and regulations in place to protect the public health and food supply,” Coats said.