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USAHA News Alert Summaries - December 10, 2015 - In this issue:
1. Vilsack defends voluntary COOL labeling as groups issue views
2. Researcher says Yellowstone bison hold key to species' genetic future
3. International Targets Recommended for Reducing Animal Antibiotic Use
4. Most Americans Think Poultry Uses Hormones
5. Morrow County duck positive for bird flu; strain of virus unclear [OR]
6. Department of Natural Resources relaxes deer fence regulations [WI]
7. Mad cow investigation report [Canada]
* * * * * * * * * *
 
1. Vilsack defends voluntary COOL labeling as groups issue views
By Jerry Hagstrom, Special to Agweek
AgWeek.com
December 8, 2015
 
 
The World Trade Organization Dec. 7 said Canada and Mexico could impose $1.01 billion per year in retaliatory tariffs over the U.S. country-of-origin labeling program for beef and pork if it stays in place, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., called for repeal of the program.
 
Vilsack told USDA Radio the World Trade Organization's decision to allow only $1.01 billion in retaliatory tariffs showed that Mexico and Canada "were overstating the damages" when they asked the WTO for authorization to impose $3 billion in damages.
 
The secretary noted that $1 billion in tariffs is still a lot, especially since U.S. agricultural exports are declining. Vilsack said he would work to resolve the matter, but that he hopes Congress will not throw out the entire program for beef and pork.
 
 
 
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2. Researcher says Yellowstone bison hold key to species' genetic future
Brett French
Casper Star-Tribune
December 9, 2015
 
 
With their massive heads, distinctive humped back and powerful builds, Yellowstone National Park's bison look similar. It is something much smaller that makes them unlike most other bison in North America.
 
At a molecular level, Yellowstone's bison contain 75 percent of the genetic diversity of the entire species; they are the only publicly managed animals that are free of any cattle genes; and they can trace their heritage back hundreds of years to a time before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.
 
For these reasons, Jim Derr, a professor in the veterinary pathobiology department at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said, "The bison in Yellowstone National Park are pivotal to the long-term conservation of the species."
 
Derr spoke at a recent gathering of a panel in Washington, D.C., that was formed by the National Academy of Sciences. The group is charged with updating a 1998 study on the prevalence and spread of brucellosis in the bison and elk of Yellowstone National Park. The scientists are also looking at the cost-effectiveness of options to contain or suppress the spread of the disease.
 
 
 
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3. International Targets Recommended for Reducing Animal Antibiotic Use
By Lydia Zuraw
Food Safety News
December 9, 2015
 
 
If you want to reduce something, a good place to start is with a target. That's what the U.K.'s Review of Antimicrobial Resistance suggests in its new report* on antibacterial use in agriculture.
[ *See: http://tinyurl.com/hdo5rzt ]
 
More antibiotics are used on animals than humans, and bacteria that become drug-resistant as the result of overuse can infect humans through direct contact with animals, through the food chain, or through the environment.
 
The Review, commissioned by British Prime Minister David Cameron last year and chaired by economist Jim O'Neill, analyzed 139 academic studies and 280 published, peer-reviewed research articles that address the issue of antibiotic use in agriculture. Only seven argued that there was no link between antibiotic consumption in animals and resistance in humans, while 100 (72 percent) concluded that there was evidence to support limiting the use of antibiotics in agriculture.
 
 
 
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4. Most Americans Think Poultry Uses Hormones
By Staff Writer
WHOtv.com
December 9, 2015
 
 
Nearly three-quarters of American consumers believe chicken contains added hormones or steroids, according to a study by the National Chicken Council. They say that's mistaken, because no chicken sold or raised in the U.S. is given hormones or steroids.
 
About 73% of consumers believe antibiotics are present in most chicken meat and 77% believe chickens have added hormones.
 
In 1950 the USDA banned all hormones and steroids in poultry and it regulates withdrawal periods of antibiotics when used to treat poultry diseases.
 
The study also found 78% of consumers believed chickens are genetically modified. There's only one genetically modified animal in the U.S. that can be sold for food, a salmon, which was approved in November.
 
 
 
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5. Morrow County duck positive for bird flu; strain of virus unclear [OR]
Associated Press
Statesman Journal
December 8, 2015
 
 
A wild duck found last month in Morrow County has tested positive for Eurasian bird flu, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not able to determine whether the strain was a danger to poultry.
 
The Capital Press reports that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife State Veterinarian Colin Gillin said Friday that the preliminary tests from the hunter-shot mallard collected Nov. 7 caused concern.
 
The duck would have been the first confirmed case of highly pathogenic bird flu in the country since July. The USDA declared the U.S. was free of bird flu on Nov. 18.
 
There are dozens of bird flu strains. The strains that killed millions of birds last winter and spring were H5N8, a Eurasian virus, and H5N2, a mix of Eurasian and North American strains.
 
 
 
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6. Department of Natural Resources relaxes deer fence regulations [WI]
By Todd Richmond
LaCrosse Tribune
December 9, 2015
 
 
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin deer farmers can opt out of the state's chronic wasting disease monitoring program without upgrading their fences under an emergency rule the state Department of Natural Resources adopted Wednesday despite concerns the move could spread the disease.
 
Deer farmers currently must in enroll in the state's monitoring program to win DNR approval for single fencing and be allowed to export or import deer. The program requires farmers to keep records of deer they gain or lose as well as records of all CWD test results on their deer. Farmers who don't join the program can't move deer and must install double or solid fencing.
 
Federal agriculture officials imposed new standards on state monitoring programs in 2012. Enrolled farmers must keep two forms of identification on each animal and hire a veterinarian every three years to count their animals. The deadline for the first census is the end of this year.
 
DNR officials say they're worried that deer farmers, particularly those who run small hobby farms, might not be able to afford to comply with the federal regulations, be thrown out of the monitoring program and have to shell out money they don't have to upgrade to double or solid fencing.
 
 
 
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7. Mad cow investigation report [Canada]
By Marc Montgomery
Radio Canada International
December 9, 2015  
 
 
It's known as "Case-19". The pure bred Angus beef cow was born in 2009 euthanized in February this year after is became unable to stand properly. Several tests later confirmed the problem as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease."
 
It was the first case of BSE since 2011 and Case-18. In this case, the animal was put down on another farm, but investigation showed it was born on the same farm as another animal put down in 2010, which is known as Case-17.
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) completed its investigation in November. The report* points to feed contamination, i.e. protein feed left over on the farm, after strict new regulations came into effect. It is suspected that the possibly infected feed came from a producer which supplied food to the farm and for Case-17, but which at the time of that investigation was already no longer in business.
[ * See: http://tinyurl.com/qemjd25 ]
 
In the past, dead farm animals were sometimes used as protein sources in animal feed. Thus a sheep that died of scrapie (similar to BSE) or a cow which died of BSE could end up in cattle and animal feed, with the potential to infect other animals.
 
As BSE concentrates in the brains and spinal cord, new federal regulations had been put in place in 1997 to ban most proteins and especially these "specified risk material" (SRM) from cattle feed. In 2007, following other mad cow cases, SRM was also banned from all animal feed, pet food, and fertilizers as part of an "Enhanced Feed Ban (EFB).
 
In Canada, a rigid system of tracing cattle from birth to death has been put in place and the animal's history easily discerned. The system is known as the Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS), operated by the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA). It was established in 1998 as the only mandatory national identification programme for the cattle industry and works with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure the food safety of the Canadian cattle industry.
 
The BSE protection measures have greatly reduced incidence of BSE. Given the long incubation time, it is expected that by 2016 the new measures will prevent more than 99 percent of potential BSE from entering the feed system and eradicate BSE in Canada
 
Due to its now stringent regulations toward eradication of BSE, Canada is officially categorized under the OIE's (World Organisation for Animal Health) science-based system as a controlled BSE risk country.
 
 
 
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USAHA News Alert Summaries is a service provided to its members as a timely, up-to-date source of news affecting animal health and related subjects, intended for personal use by USAHA members.  Information in these articles does not necessarily represent the views or positions of USAHA. 

   Sources of articles are state, national and international media outlets, press releases, and direct from organizations or agencies.  Each article includes direct citation and link.  Comments, questions or concerns about the information included in each article should be directed to the source in addition to USAHA. While USAHA strives for accuracy in the information it shares, the News Alert Summaries should be treated as a tool that provides a snapshot of information being reported regarding animal health and related subjects.