But Who's Paying?

An interesting response by the provincial government and the Canadian cattlemen's association to the third case of Mad Cow in that country.

Alberta's premier and the cattle industry believe it's time to look at a cull of older animals to restore international confidence in Canadian beef after two cows tested positive for mad cow disease in the last 10 days.

"Is a cull necessary? Yes," Klein said Wednesday in Toronto following a luncheon speech in the heart of the country's business district. "I think the ranching industry will come to that conclusion and will devise a way to achieve that cull."

The enormity of the situation is found a little later in the article.

Brian Evans, Canada's chief veterinarian, has estimated that six per cent of the Canadian herd was born after feed restrictions were put in place in 1997. That's about 840,000 animals. The herd has swollen to 14 million since international markets for live cattle closed in May 2003.

Like the title says, the big question to me is who will pay for it? If there is no indemnity to the cattlemen, I sincerely doubt they'd be so gung-ho.