Government to ban slaughter of cattle unable to stand or walk… (KXMA-TV Dickinson) The government said today it will permanently ban the slaughter of cattle for human food if they can't stand or walk, a possible sign of mad cow disease. But it's exempting some animals in that condition. The Agriculture Department says the [News Source]

U.S. to ban slaughter of immobile cows (USA Today) The government said Thursday it will permanently ban the slaughter of cattle for human food if they cannot stand or walk, a possible sign of mad cow disease, but is exempting some animals in that condition. [News Source]

US to Ban Slaughter of Immobile Cows (San Francisco Chronicle) The government said Thursday it will permanently ban the slaughter of cattle for human food if they cannot stand or walk, a possible sign of mad cow disease, but is exempting some animals in that condition. The Agriculture Department said the ban will... [News Source]

$17M earmarked for mad cow disease prevention efforts (CBC) The provincial and federal governments are spending more than $17 million to help Manitoba's cattle industry find new ways to get rid of cattle tissue that could harbour mad cow disease. [News Source]

Canada beefs up mad cow feed rules (AFP via Yahoo! News) Tougher rules on animal parts that could wind up infecting livestock with mad cow disease went into force Thursday, Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl said. [News Source]

Soil can make prions more infectious. As soil proves to be a possibly dangerous reservoir for prions, new research has implications for oral transmission of BSE and related diseases. [News Source]

New BSE rules a nightmare, packers say. Starting today, cattle tissues linked to the spread of mad cow disease must be removed from carcasses and destroyed or permanently contained. They are no longer allowed in pet or animal feed, and are banned from fertilizers and bone meal widely used on farms and home gardens. [News Source]

FSIS makes mad cow rule permanent (Moldova.org) The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a permanent prohibition on the slaughter of cattle that are unable to stand or walk.The prohibition affects so-called downer cattle when they are presented for pre-slaughter inspection. FSIS officials said the inability to stand or walk can be a clinical sign of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which is also called mad cow disease.Under the ... [News Source]

USDA finalizes ban on downer cattle in human food chain (Agriculture Online) WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ended speculation it might relax a temporary safeguard it put in place three years ago to protect consumers from mad-cow disease Thursday by issuing a final rule to ban "downer" cattle beef from the human food supply. [News Source]

FSIS makes mad cow rule permanent (EARTHtimes.org) The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a permanent prohibition on the slaughter of cattle that are unable to stand or walk. The prohibition affects so-called downer cattle when they are presented for pre-slaughter inspection. FSIS officials... [News Source]