QUEBEC CITY – After centuries of being considered a nuisance disease, scrapie today has the full attention of animal health specialists. A degenerative condition affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats, scrapie is a prion protein disease from the same family as BSE in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Attack on scrapie focuses on genetics
QUEBEC CITY – A genetic link to scrapie susceptibility could help remove the disease from the sheep population. Countries including Canada and the United States have tried to eliminate the disease but a lack of tests, vaccines and full understanding made it difficult to control, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian in charge of […] Read more
Canada urged to increase scrapie surveillance
QUEBEC CITY – Canada must strengthen its scrapie surveillance program if it hopes to regain export markets, says the president of the Canadian Sheep Federation. “We have to change our scrapie program to regain world markets because of the changing scope of world reaction to TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies),” Randy Eros said, adding that Canada […] Read more
Hereford manager ready to retire
Duncan Porteous says he entered the purebred beef business at the best of times. Now, he is leaving the industry he loves at the worst of times. The longtime general manager of the Canadian Hereford Association retired on July 31. During his career, he has seen million dollar deals sealed with a handshake and watched […] Read more
Producers find difficulty disposing of dead stock
QUEBEC CITY – Getting rid of dead animals takes planning that could include checking local regulations to prevent environmental hazards and scavenger problems. “It is becoming more and more difficult to properly dispose of them. There’s more rules and less options,” said Kim Stanford of Alberta Agriculture. “Some of the options cost more than the […] Read more
B.C. sheep shows scarce
A lengthy drive from the British Columbia interior to the Calgary Stampede was worth the time for Earl and Val Jackson. With the loss of agriculture shows at major fairs like the Pacific National Exhibition, the Stampede has become one of the few venues for them to show their Southdown and Dorset sheep. “We have […] Read more
Mexico wants beef trade to resume
Mexico is anxious to resume trade in live animals with Canada, says a ministry of agriculture official. Javier Trujillo, undersecretary for food safety and quality, said there are ongoing discussions to resume live trade. “Today, I can tell you safely that the technical protocol is complete and is moving slowly forward,” he told about 400 […] Read more
Ignorance worsened Britain’s BSE: vet
Great Britain could teach countries living with the burden of BSE some valuable lessons. A British veterinarian said recently that many mistakes were made in England during the early days of BSE because little was known of the disease when it was first detected in 1986. “The media was irresponsible but the government was pretty […] Read more
U.S. food origin label law may go voluntary
A voluntary country-of-origin labelling law in the United States is a welcome development for Canadian red meat exporters who hope the proposal survives passage through Congress. The Food Promotion Act was approved by the House of Representatives agriculture committee. If passed by both the House and Senate, it would replace the mandatory law slated to […] Read more
Sheep farmers worry about fall lamb crop
QUEBEC CITY – In his second year as president of the Canadian Sheep Federation, Randy Eros has seen his industry turned upside down. The major challenge has been closed borders due to BSE in Canada. Producers have had extra lamb to sell to Canadians. “The border closure is a big weight on the shoulders of […] Read more
