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The USDA has announced it is immediately banning the use of "downer" cattle -- animals unable to walk at the time slaughter -- from being used a food for human beings. The ban was just one of several new USDA actions taken in response to the confirmed case of mad cow disease discovered in Washington State on Dec. 23.
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usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/downerban.htm
usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/downerban.htm
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www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/02/08/1352116.htm
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WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on Tuesday announced a list of new restrictions to further enhance the safety of the American beef supply, including a meatpacking ban on the use of sick "downer" cattle like the one discovered last week with mad cow disease.
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www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/12/30/172204.sht...
www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/12/30/172204.shtml
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In 2004, after a downer cow slaughtered in Washington state was found to have the disease, then-Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced a ban on the sale of meat from downer cattle. At the time, 44 nations had closed their borders to U.S. beef over safety concerns.
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www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/2...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/28/AR2008022804117.html
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Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns suggested that the ban on downer cattle may be eased after the USDA completes an enhanced surveillance program of US cattle later this year [2005]. "There is a compelling argument: If you've got an animal that's clearly under 30 months that broke a leg in transit, there is no threat...
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www.rense.com/general64/ease.htm
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It is not widely known but there are a number of slaughter houses in the US which *specialize* in butchering downer cattle...one assumes there is a price discount for retailers who can CHOOSE to purchase the flesh of downer cattle.
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www.rense.com/general46/spec.html
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Downer cattle generally have been prohibited from the U.S. food supply since 2004 because they carry a higher risk of mad cow disease, a fatal brain illness, and E. coli and salmonella contamination, partly because they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems often are weak.
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www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-25-downer-cattle_N...
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-25-downer-cattle_N.htm
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Schafer said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) would propose a rule to ban the slaughter of all nonambulatory, or "downer," cattle for food, aiming to implement it within a few months.
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www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/may210...
www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/may2108downers.html
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WASHINGTON, July 12, 2007 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced a permanent prohibition on the slaughter of cattle that are unable to stand or walk ("downer" cattle) when presented for pre-slaughter inspection.
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www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_071207_01/index.asp
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