Council probe leads to court appearance for top farmer. Regulations about transferable spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) put restrictions on sheep which have a genetic make-up that may make them susceptible to scrapie. [News Source]

Japan, U.S. to seek to end beef import row before Abe’s U.S. visit (Kyodo via Yahoo! Asia News) _ Japan will seek to settle a row over U.S.-grown beef imports in talks with the United States amid the mad cow disease scare before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flies to the United States in late April for a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, the Japanese farm minister said Friday. [News Source]