Reuters
PARIS - Spain
announced a ban on imports of French and Irish cows Wednesday
to stop the spread of mad cow disease as France"s biggest
farm union said it wanted the government to kill millions of cattle
to wipe out the fatal, brain-wasting illness. "We have asked
authorities to do what they can to make sure these animals do
not enter the food chain," FNSEA farm union president Luc
Guyau said in a television interview. The union asked the French
government to slaughter all cattle born before July 15, 1996 --
the date when France banned all so-called specific risk material
from animal feed as a precaution against the condition known as
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Guyau added the proposed
mass slaughter could involve around five million cattle over seven
or eight years. French Farm Minister Jean Glavany said the proposal
made sense but could cost billions of francs. "This measure
merits study, makes sense (but) represents a cost of at least
12 billion French francs ($1.56 billion), possibly 18 billion
French francs ($2.35 billion)," Glavany told a stormy session
of parliament. Spain"s Agriculture Ministry said it had banned
imports of live breeding cattle over 20 months old from France
and Ireland amid fears of the potential spread of BSE. Spain took
action following a food scare in France sparked two weeks ago
when several supermarkets disclosed they had sold beef potentially
contaminated with BSE. BSE CASES TRIPLE As concerns widened over
BSE, France reported Wednesday three new cases of the deadly disease.
That brought the total number of cows identified with the disease
this year to 92 -- more than triple the 30 cases reported last
year. Two of the three new cases were detected under a testing
scheme that the government launched in June to gauge the extent
of the illness among its 21 million cattle. The country"s
proud culinary tradition continued to suffer further indignity
as top restaurateur Alain Ducasse said he may take beef off the
menu at his European restaurants and eventually import it from
America because of BSE concerns. "As public authorities are
not going to make the right decision quickly...I think I am going
to take the decision to pull beef from my menus," he said.
"And why not import American beef? In that way all the French
farmers will hate me when I return soon," he told French
radio from New York, where he has a restaurant. Ducasse also has
establishments in several European cities. But as the scare that
has dashed beef sales wore on, there were suggestions that the
reaction was overdone. Europe"s Food Safety Commissioner
David Byrne said cases of BSE were on the rise in France but the
incidence rate was still relatively low and must be seen in context.
"The incidence is very low, much lower than in Britain. It
is rising but from a very low level," he said. According
to the latest EU data, France has less than eight mad cow cases
per million cattle aged over two years. Ireland has almost 40,
Portugal nearly 200 and at the end of last year Britain"s
rate of the brain-wasting disorder was above 500. Most scientists
are convinced that eating contaminated beef is the most likely
mode of transmission of the disease from cattle to humans. (additional
reporting by David Evans in Brussels)
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