A panel of BSE experts that convened recently in Saskatoon says Canada handled the arrival of BSE well, but could have done better.
Roger Morris of the King’s College in London, England is known worldwide for his research of prions, the malformed proteins thought to cause BSE in cattle.
“Canada has done a marvelous job of dealing with the disease. In Britain we made a disaster of it…. People were afraid to travel to London for fear they might just die.”
The panel, organized by the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, was made up of analysts familiar with the North American BSE situation.
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“Canada and Canadians have stood by their industry and seem to have realized this disease for what it is – very, very rare,” said Morris.
Neil Jahnke, Saskatchewan rancher and past-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said Canada is as guilty as anybody when it comes to playing politics with BSE and border restrictions.
“We did it to other countries and now it’s happening to us,” he said.
Jahnke said Canada’s position on bluetongue and anaplasmosis, which was cited by the Canadian government as cause for placing seasonal restrictions on American feeder cattle entering Canada, lasted “17 years when for 15 we knew there was no scientific basis for it. We did it to them and now they do it to us, simple.”
As a result of the BSE crisis, Canada and the U.S. have changed those restrictions.
Jahnke said the lesson for Canada is to base decisions on science.
Terry Pugh of the National Farmers’ Union said governments need to rethink the emergency compensation programs they put in place to deal with agricultural crises.
“The money needs to find its way into the farmers’ pockets and stay there, not move up the value chain to packers and corporations,” he said.
Morris said one of the other problems of dealing with a disease outbreak is “pointing of fingers. Who and what is responsible, besides what science tells us?”
