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VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Tests have confirmed mad cow disease in a mature bull in Alberta, but none of the animal entered the food chain, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
"The animal's carcass is under CFIA control, and no part of it entered the human food or animal feed systems," the agency said in a statement.
The agency did not say how old the animal was, but said that based on preliminary information it was "within the age range" of other Canadian cattle found to have have been infected with the disease.
Canada has reported nine cases of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in its domestic herd since May 2003, and all the animals are believed to have contracted the disease from contaminated feed.
In 1997, Canada banned the inclusion of protein from ruminants like cattle and sheep in cattle feed that are believed to be linked to the spread of the disease.
It announced last year that it would strengthen that rule by banning specific cattle tissue capable of transmitting mad cow disease from all livestock feed and pet food with a goal of eliminating BSE from Canada's cattle herd within 10 years.
CFIA said the animal was discovered at a farm, which it did not identify, under routine screening of cattle believed to be at risk of contracting BSE.
- REUTERS
