Slaughterhouse Owners Dispute USDA Claims

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=10&u=/ap/mad_cow

MOSES LAKE, Wash. - Standing in front of their family business, the owners of a small slaughterhouse that killed a Holstein with the nation's first case of mad cow challenged the government's assertion the animal couldn't walk.


The cow walked off a truck at Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co. and exhibited no signs of the central nervous disorder, said Tom Ellestad, who co-manages the plant.


The issue is important because Agriculture Department officials who monitor meat plants target "downer" cattle — animals that are injured or exhibit symptoms of disease — for testing of mad cow. Critics have argued that the agency also needs to test healthy animals as a safeguard against the brain-wasting illness, which can incubate for four or five years.


Ellestad said Wednesday there is a strong possibility the illness never would have been detected had his company not tested it as part of a voluntary program to check healthy animals for the disease.

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