A case of BSE, also known as ‘mad cow disease’, has been identified in a dead cow on a farm in Wales, the Welsh government has confirmed.
It did not enter the human food chain, and authorities said there was no risk to human health.
According to Rebecca Evans, Britain’s Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, “identification of this case demonstrates that the controls we have in place are working well”.
BSE in Ireland
Earlier this year a case of BSE was confirmed by the Department of Agriculture in five-year-old cow on a dairy farm in Co. Louth.
The case was identified through the Department’s on-going surveillance system on fallen animals (that is animals which die on farm). The animal was not presented for slaughter and did not enter the food chain.
The final test results confirmed the case of BSE to be an isolated case of ‘classical’ BSE in a single animal, according to the Department.
In line with normal protocols, the Department identified all animals potentially exposed to the BSE agent that caused this incident – those born and reared on the birth-farm one year either side of the birth date of the positive animal, and her progeny.
These animals were then slaughtered, excluded from the food and feed chains, and tested.
This was the first BSE case found in Ireland since 2013 and came just a month after the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) recognised Ireland as a country having a negligible risk for BSE.
