AR-News: Mad Cow Scare Spreads to Alaska Dog Race

[jim robertson]

Mad Cow Scare Spreads to Alaska Dog Race
Fri Jan 2, 8:15 PM ET  Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!



FAIRBANKS, Alaska - American beef, pork and chicken products destined for 
dogs in an international sled-dog race will not be allowed across the border 
because of fears about mad cow disease.



Organizers of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race this week notified 
mushers that Canada will not allow dog food containing the meat products to 
cross the border because of health concerns.


The notice came as many mushers were working to meet a Jan. 23 deadline for 
having food ready to be delivered to drop points along the 1,000-mile course 
from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon.


Race organizers learned about the restrictions on dog food Monday and began 
calling mushers to inform them they might need to change their feeding 
plans, said Jonni Roos, assistant race director.


Several countries banned U.S. beef following the discovery of a case of mad 
cow disease in a Washington state cow. Canada also temporarily suspended 
importation of U.S. pork- and bird-based products. The restrictions apply to 
pet food.


Quest mushers are now trying to figure out how to prepare for the race, 
which starts in Fairbanks on Feb. 14. A ban on beef, chicken or pork, "means 
there's pretty much nothing left," said Fairbanks musher Eric Nicolier.


Some mushers may have to buy dog food for the Canada drop points across the 
border.


"Man, that's crazy," said Nicolier. "We wouldn't make much difference with 
the mad cow situation — everything is staying frozen and it's just going to 
be fed to the dogs."


___


On the Net:


Canadian Food Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca




“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.”
- Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man

“Religious tradition is one of abuse of animals...If we cling to the notion 
that we are somehow better than our fellow animals we will continually 
engage in behavior which is destructive to them and consequently to us as 
fellow inhabitants of the ecosystem called earth... religion should not be 
reformed to be more consonant to reality; it should be abandoned altogether. 
  One should not put lipstick on a rotting corpse and then seat it at the 
dinner table.”
- Robin Murray O’Hair,  American Atheist magazine, October, 1988

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