BUSTED!
But is new mad cow case from an American cow?

A downer beef cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States after a third test was conducted on a seven-month-old sample.

So far, it appears that this is the first case of mad cow disease from a cow that originated in the United States. Tests are being conducted to determine where the cow came from. Researchers were confident June 27 that they had found the herd.

There are four known BSE cases in Canadian cattle.

"We don’t have any evidence that this is an imported animal," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, told a June 24 press conference. He said the animal was eight-years-old and was in the system before the government banned bone and meat meal in bovine feed in 1997.

What this means for Canada is anyone’s guess. John Newman, a director of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, said the announcement could "change everything or nothing" about American imports of our beef.

Canadian cattlemen are waiting for July 13 when a San Francisco court rules whether live cattle can cross the U.S. border. Canada exported about 400,000 tonnes of beef last year to the U.S. but no beef cuts from cattle over 30-months of age or live cattle.

While some Canadian cattlemen are cautiously optimistic, the latest BSE case could trigger more hardship before the U.S. border opens for live Canadian cattle. The U.S. has been negotiating with Japan for supplying beef from animals under 20-months. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the federal government fear the U.S. might drop the current ceiling on Canadian imports to correspond with Japan’s import requirements. Japan imports $1.5 billion worth of beef annually from the U.S.

The Canadian government has drafted an emergency plan marked "top secret" on what to do with surplus Canadian animals between 20-months and 30-months of age, should the U.S. drop the age limit on beef allowed into the country from Canada.

Meantime the United States continues to stress the safety of U.S. beef. U.S. secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said his department has conducted 388,000 tests for BSE.

"This is the first confirmed test from our surveillance," he said, noting that tests were ramped up one year ago to 1,000 animals each day.

Although it has taken seven months to determine the lastest BSE case, Johanns said he still doesn’t know the farm on which the animal originated, only that the facility that slaughtered it takes animals that are not for human consumption. "We’re just not going to confirm anything about the animal until we get the epidemiological work done," he said.

"It’s hard to believe they (USDA) haven’t done a full trace back by now," Newman said.