AR-News: in case anyone missed (as I did) this stat: USDA: Some 400, 000 "dead and dying" cattle go to rendering plants annually (plus 200, 000 downers to slaughter)

[Bruce Friedrich]

US 'DOWNER' BAN HURTS CATTLE PRODUCERS - LAWMAKERS
Reuters, Jan. 21, 2004
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21272077.htm

Washington - The U.S. ban on using sick and injured cattle as human food
will put a financial strain on cattle producers, farm-state lawmakers said
on Wednesday. Some of the lawmakers said the government should pay producers
for getting their "downer" cattle tested for mad cow disease. Without an
incentive, farmers, ranchers and feedlot operators might kill downer cattle
rather than haul them to a rendering plant or some other site for testing,
they said.
 
A 1,100-pound (500-kg) steer can be worth several hundred dollars when sold
for slaughter but it sells for a pittance if categorized as a downer fit
only for pet food or nonfood products, lawmakers told Agriculture Secretary
Ann Veneman.
 
The Agriculture Department banned sick or injured cattle from human food
December 30, one week after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was
reported.
 
Earlier this month the USDA said it might pay U.S. farmers to turn in
downers so they can be tested for mad cow disease. Downer animals that are
unable to walk are thought to have a higher possibility of being
BSE-infected, as this is one of the symptoms of the neurological disease.
The USDA has focused its tests for mad cow, or bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), on cattle intended for human food, because humans can
contract a form of the disease by eating infected meat.
 
During a House Agriculture Committee hearing, members praised Veneman for
protecting consumer confidence in U.S. beef safety but some questioned if it
was fair to ban otherwise healthy animals with a broken leg. The loss in
value "is a significant number," said Randy Neugebauer, a Texas Republican.
Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat, said "it's a huge deal" to a small producer
for an animal to be labeled as a downer.
 
Before the ban, packing plants were the focus of Agriculture Department
testing for mad cow disease. Some lawmakers said the government should offer
a payment so producers would bring downer cattle to rendering plants or
veterinarians' offices for mad cow tests. "I think it's important there be
compensation," said Oklahoma Republican Frank Lucas, who asked Veneman to
name an appropriate amount to offer to producers.
 
Veneman said the issue "needs some further debate." A team of international
experts will suggest ways to ensure the government sees "the likely kinds of
animals that should be tested to maintain an aggressive surveillance
program."
 
Some 400,000 "dead and dying" cattle go to rendering plants annually without
the lure of a government payment, she noted. USDA estimated 150,000-200,000
downer cattle were brought to slaughterhouses annually.
 
Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said he was
concerned "we have a gap in the system" because the government had not
specified how it will test downer cattle. Asked by reporters if farmers
should be offered a payment, Goodlatte replied, "It depends on what they set
up."
 
Cal Dooley, a California Democrat, said "it is a ludicrous argument" to say
the government cannot run an adequate mad cow surveillance program after
banning downer cattle as food. "There's no doubt," said Earl Pomeroy, a
North Dakota Democrat, that if Congress was given a chance to vote after the
mad cow case was announced, "the ban on downer animals would have passed
overwhelmingly." 
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