Posted on 09/30/2001 9:07:30 AM PDT by AgThorn
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
U.S. Issues Declaration of Emergency for Mad Cow Disease
NewsMax.com WiresEditor's Note: The following emergency declaration was issued by the Sec. of Agriculture on Sept. 26, 2001 and was published on the Federal Register web site this weekend. The emergency order effective date was back dated to Sept. 21, 2001
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2001
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. 01-019-1]
Declaration of Emergency Because of Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a disease of deer and elk, is part of a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE's), a group that also includes scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). While considered rare, the incidence of CWD is on the rise among both wild and domestic cervids. The disease, which occurs mostly in adult animals, is progressive and always fatal. The origin and mode of transmission of CWD are unknown. The disease has become of particular concern due to its fatal nature, lack of known prevention or treatment, its impact on the farmed cervid industry, and its possible transmissibility to cattle or other domestic livestock and humans.
CWD is known to be endemic in free-ranging deer and elk in a limited area in the western United States. Officials have detected it in free-ranging deer and elk in southeastern Wyoming, northeastern Colorado, and southwestern Nebraska. State departments of wildlife are taking steps to conduct surveillance in the endemic areas and to control the spread of CWD in wild cervids.
In recent years, CWD has been found in 14 captive elk herds in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Some of these herds have since been depopulated. Of the 2,300 farmed elk herds (with a total of 110,000 animals) in the United States, currently only 4 (with a total of approximately 1,000 animals) are known to be CWD- positive. We do not know the full extent of infection in farmed elk in the United States. Limited funds and the absence of a CWD program have allowed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to conduct only minimal surveillance and testing, and not depopulation. Presently, herds are placed under State quarantine when infection is found.
While current efforts have been sufficient to depopulate or send to slaughter a number of positive herds, primarily through State indemnity programs and voluntary depopulation, APHIS has determined that this method will not work to eliminate the disease in farmed cervids. First, there is no live animal test for CWD, so it is impossible to determine whether a live animal is positive; nor is there a vaccine to prevent the disease. Second, the incubation period is lengthy, and 3 to 5 years of continued surveillance is needed (with no new infection found) before a herd can be declared free of CWD through quarantine. To date, only 1 of the 14 known CWD-positive herds has been declared free of CWD following quarantine.
Indemnity from State programs has not been adequate to pay fair market value for depopulated elk, so each depopulation has caused considerable financial loss to the herd owner. Because no funds are available within APHIS for depopulation and payment of indemnity, the only option for producers to gain some compensation for eliminating a CWD-positive herd is to slaughter the animals for human consumption. This option represents a very limited incentive for producers to participate in an eradication program. Also, it poses potential problems related to contamination of slaughter facilities and potential human exposure to preclinical infected animals that are not detectable with our current testing tools.
Aggressive action in controlling this disease now will decrease the chance of having to deal with a much larger, widespread, and costly problem later, such as the situation with BSE in Europe. The European Union is struggling to rebuild consumer confidence in Europe's beef after recent outbreaks of BSE in France, Spain, and Germany. As demonstrated in Europe, once shaken, consumer confidence is very difficult to rebuild. BSE's human form, known as variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease (vCJD), has killed more than 80 people in the United Kingdom and 2 in Spain. There is no known cure for this deadly disease, or for any of the other diseases caused by TSE's that affect humans or animals. Although there is currently no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in humans, or in domestic animals other than deer and elk, a theoretical risk of such a link exists. Public perception and consumer fears that CWD from deer and elk could cause disease in humans or in domestic livestock could destroy the markets for elk or deer products. Canada has prohibited the import of U.S. cervids due to CWD, and other countries are contemplating import restrictions on elk and deer and their products. Recently, Korea informed APHIS that it is temporarily suspending the importation of deer and elk and their products from the United States and Canada.
Without a Federal program in place to depopulate infected and exposed animals, the movement of infected elk into new herds and States with no known infection will continue or may even accelerate. APHIS needs to take action to document the prevalence of the disease and to prevent its further spread. Furthermore, the Agency needs to demonstrate, as with other TSE's, that it is able and willing to take early and effective action to protect the health of U.S. animals and animal industries.
Therefore, in order to address the CWD threat to U.S. livestock, APHIS has determined that additional funds are needed for a CWD eradication program. In addition to the purchase of animals, the additional funds will be used for program activities such as depopulation and disposal, clean-up and disinfection, establishment of surveillance and certification programs, testing, implementation and maintenance of quarantines, surveillance, and training for producers and veterinarians. These additional funds will reduce the spread of CWD in captive elk herds and discourage entry of positive or exposed animals into the human and animal food chains, and should save the Federal Government and farmed elk industry from having to deal with a more costly and widespread problem later.
Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of September 25, 1981, as amended (7 U.S.C. 147b), I declare that there is an emergency that threatens the livestock industry of this country and hereby authorize the transfer and use of such funds as may be necessary from appropriations or other funds available to the agencies or corporations of the United States Department of Agriculture to establish a chronic wasting disease eradication program in the United States.
Effective Date: This declaration of emergency shall become effective September 21, 2001.
Ann M. Veneman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 01-24192 Filed 9-26-01; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
Now as far as abuse..Look at your response to me and you will see abuse
First of all, I didn't take your reply as a flame to me, the poster ... and you are right - everyone has a right to post an opinion as to a news source's worthiness (in that regard, for instance, I am slowly changing in some of my opinions on "Judicial Watch" as a news source because of suspicions passed on to me by others here at FR.) I welcome valid news source "suspicions" since, to me, ALL Media needs to be looked at with a "jandous eye."
However, althought recognizing and supporting your right to do so and perhaps your past reasons in believing as you do (not yet known), I am questioning your claim that NewsMax has in this case "titled the article in it's predictable sensationalist manner"
Anyone can read every word from the title given as directly taken right from the Government document not only cited but posted ... i.e.:
- it is a US issued Declaration
- it is a declaration of Emergency
- it is an Emergency for Mad Cow Disease
Therefore it is difficult for anyone to agree with your rationale given for complaining about the "source" on this of all articles referenced by them.
PROVE IT! Prove it's a lie, then I'll join you in saying newsmax is a buncha libelous liars. PROVE the originating poster was posting a lie, and I'll join you in decrying the practice.
Besides that, I only care about the forum here, I have no axe to grind either for or against newsmax. As national media outlets go, there are hundreds, larger and more prominent, who post much less reliable material than newsmax. Now that's just my opinion. Any news media can be wrong, but over the years newsmax is trying to do good, and not be part of the shamestream media. Are there that many conservative news outlets out there that we can afford to lose any more ground in the media? Last I looked we were outgunned by around 99%. When dealing with anything from scandals to current breaking events, their hearts are in the right place. And as a general reader and poster on the forum, I feel it's my obligation to come to the defense of someone when they have been maligned, either directly or throught the linkages and innuendo because of the linkages. There is way too much personal attacks that go on unanswered here at free republic, my opinion, that needs to change. The smarmy nasty mouthed tinfoil hat insult hurling debunker crowd has bullied enough people here. People post a newslink they find, there's always someone has to insult them, just can't stifle it or go get the facts themselves and present any data, no, just hurl an insult as fast as they can type. then try to defend the flame insult by calling it "an opinion" with zero data to back it up. If you think newsmax is a liar, sue them yourself then, expose them, put up your own newsmax debunking website, show the proof, make a big name for yourself and a few million, or in this case send the alledged libelous postings directly to the secretary of agriculture, then she can sue them if it's a false "tinfoil hat lie" being posted. An "opinion" can still be a flame and an insult, and as such violates the "no personal attacks" rule here, one rule that is violated on almost every thread. And replying to that is definetly different from initiating it, flames start with whomever draws first cyber word blood, that's where the personal attack starts. I'm not speaking as the original poster of the article, merely a reader here at free republic, and it's just gotten old the amount of insults that go on unanswered here. I see no rational defense for being a flame originator, none. You can make any point you want against any poster or linked to article without being insulting, by just using your own data and analysis, and that "tinfoil hat" label is one of the smarmier knee-jerk automatic insults that gets used against posters here all the time.
What I base my opinion of NewsMAx on is the way they build a story completely off of suspicions or hypathetical situations. I can't tell you how many times I have read how we were about to be bombed by China, or how General "such-n-such" has determined that N. Korea will Nuke us in the coming years. I personally feel this is an irresponsible way of reporting news or so called news, and this is why I don't trust their reporting
Now lets have a look at your reponse to me,
"did you actually go look, or do you just like posting thoroughly idotic statements in a troll attempt"
"You maligned the poster on purpose, just because you own a keyboard and have a nasty foul disposition"
I consider your remarks as a good example of a "Clear violation of this Forum's rules"
The same for Hoof and Mouth.
The terrorists have destroyed the airline industry,closed the stock market for days,killed thousands and thousands of financial workers , and cost eveyone in America billions and billions!
So, I will not be surprised when it is determined tht the terrorists are killing animals!
IMHO, Newsmax was founded by one of the greatest journalists of the 90s, Chris Ruddy, author of the highly controversial and heavilly documented, "Strange Death of Vince Foster", and the journalist who had documented the most amazing coverup expose in all history, the Strange Death of Ron Brown.
I admit that Ruddy doesn't appear to be doing much of worth lately. Perhaps he is writing a book. Perhaps he is turning cynical that people can't quite get themselves to look at his mountain of evidence with open eyes. But to compare his work with the National Enquirer, I think that is very unfair. I see you have a beef, and like another poster asked, Where's the beef? What is innacurate? What makes newsmax.com as goofy as the Enquirer? You think that comparing mad cow disease with this should make newsmax.com comparable with the Enquirer? Give me a break. That is, IMHO, an excuse, a feather light excuse at that.
Baseless insults are a sign of fuzzy thinking.
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