Border meat ban lifted on some products

Ken Johnston
Editor

With one industry already reeling from the U.S. ban on Canadian beef, the tourism industry is breathing a sigh of relief after word came on Friday that U.S. Hunters will be able to bring deer and other popularly hunted game animals home from Canada.
At the same time the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a partial lift in the ban on certain ruminant products from Canada, however, the most crucial element in the ban to Canada remains in place. Live ruminants will not be allowed to cross still.
The lift in the ban will allow boneless sheep or goat meat from animals under 12 months of age, boneless bovine meat from cattle under 30 months of age, boneless veal (meat) from calves under 36 weeks at time of slaughter, fresh bovine liver, vaccines for veterinary medicine for non-ruminant use and pet products and feed ingredients that contained processed animal protein and tallow of non-ruminant sources when produced in facilities with dedicated manufacturing lines.
Hunters can immediately begin importing some wild meats into the U.S. as long as they are intended for personal use. However, they will have to have a “Veterinary Services Special Permit for Importation of Hunter-Harvested Wild Ruminant Meat” which can be downloaded of the internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html or by calling (301)734-3277.
The USDA halted the import of all ruminant products and live ruminants on May 20, 2003 after a single case of BSE or Mad Cow disease was found on a farm in Alberta. The USDA made its announcement to partially lift the ban Friday after close review of the international standards set by the International Office of Epizootics which is the standard setting organization for 164 member nations. There was also an extensive epidemiological investigation into the case in Canada during which no other animals were found to be infected.
Canadian officials are arguing that all the evidence points to the supply being safe and are urging the U.S. government to open the border completely. It is hoped that the partial lifting of the ban is a precursor to just that very soon.