Clarke WESTERN BUREAU:
THE BEEF Farmers Association of Jamaica has called on the government to place a temporary ban on all imports of animal and animal products that may carry the threat of the dreaded Mad Cow disease (BSE).
The farmers signed a petition, published in yesterday's Sunday Gleaner, noting that they made their request at a meeting last Wednesday with Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke.
The petition said the threat posed by the Mad Cow and Foot-and-Mouth diseases required far more stringent measures than those taken so far.
It further noted that the farmers had emphasised to the Minister that goats, sheep and pigs, as well as beef and dairy cattle were under serious threat from the transmission of these diseases.
The farmers warned that the introduction of any of these diseases into the local livestock population would have devastating effects on the economy.
It added that this economic fall-out would extend to other areas such as tourism.
It concluded that the local beef and dairy cattle, goats, sheep and pigs were safe and called on the government to be vigilant in order to maintain this status.
Local livestock farmers have launched a massive education campaign to boost declining sales due to the widely publicised Mad Cow and Foot-and-Mouth diseases.
Mad Cow disease, which is found predominantly in the United Kingdom, is derived from protein supplement, meat-based rations fed to British cattle. The farmers maintained that the local animals, which are fed on grass and corn-based feeds, are safe from the disease.
