Vet urges West Nile booster
The number of horses infected with West Nile virus is down since the peak of 445 cases in 2003, but that's no reason to become complacent, says Gerald Ollis, Alberta's chief veterinarian.

DNA test helps build ideal animal
A single hair from a 2,000 pound bull can reveal more information about that hulking beast than could ever have been imagined 10 years ago.

CFIA finds few surprises in BSE study
Steers deliberately infected with BSE at a Lethbridge laboratory have all died of the disease as expected.

Experts seek CWD-human link
An international study to learn about potential human health risks associated with chronic wasting disease started May 1.

Happy horse wears custom made saddle
RED DEER - One saddle does not fit all horses or riders, says a saddle maker, horse trainer and show judge from Penhold, Alta.

Now is time to deal with trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis is showing up in Alberta.

Culled sows to benefit food banks
Manitoba will spend $500,000 to help process 5,000 surplus sows under the federal sow cull program so the meat can be distributed to provincial food banks.

Welfare cases soar
Over the last two years animal welfare complaints have mushroomed in Manitoba, jumping to 390 in 2007 from approximately 100 in 2005.

Bison makes inroads in meat market
The bison industry doesn't believe its meat will ever replace beef as a red meat staple, but is convinced it can make inroads.

Recognize calving problems and react
CAROLINE, Alta. - Calving is usually a trouble-free event but sometimes things go wrong with an incorrect presentation or big calf blocking its entry to the world.

Never too young for the show ring
Four-year-old Nicholas McMorrow of Warman, Sask., has spent three-quarters of his life parading around the show ring with his dairy calves.

Sask. beef producers closer to united group
It hasn't officially formed yet but the proposed Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association (SCA) has already established a website and hired a consultant.

Vaccinate for anthrax, urges CFIA
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging cattle producers in areas where anthrax has been a problem to vaccinate against the disease this spring before sending them to pasture.

Meat audit calls for changes
RED DEER - A lengthy audit of Alberta's provincial meat plants shows room for improvement in animal handling and stunning.

Welfare laws fail in protecting animals
RED DEER - Animal welfare laws rarely improve animal welfare, says a Manitoba agriculture official.

Animal stress, pain difficult for science to measure
RED DEER - Philosophers have long debated what it feels like to be a pig or a horse, but it is difficult for other branches of science to measure animal well-being.

Heat wave cuts milk production
Hot, humid weather that downgraded last year's hay crop has left milk production in three western provinces short of the half-year 97 percent minimum quota utilization rules.