BSE: 'THOUSANDS OF CALVES
WERE KILLED NEEDLESSLY'

Tens of thousands of calves have been sent to slaughter by the Government in the false belief that they had been infected with BSE by their mothers.

Findings announced yesterday ruled out the possibility of maternal transmission of the deadly brain disorder.

This means that calves now developing BSE are likely to have caught the infection from contaminated feed imports.

It raises serious questions about policing of feed imports into Britain and the EU - and why it has taken so long to rule out the possibility of maternal transmission of cows.

A total of 23,600 calves born to cattle with BSE after 1996 have been traced, then slaughtered with compensation to farmers - at an estimated £16million.

But the number sent for slaughter due to a feared link with their mothers could have been much higher.

It now appears to have been pointless, following a study at the Government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

The research was headed by Dr John Wilesmith, who sits on SEAC, the government's key advisory committee on BSE and its human form.

Prof Wilesmith said he was convinced animals could only contract BSE by eating feed contaminated with meat and bone meal (MBM), created from rendered down bodies of animals. MBM is supposed to be banned in the EU because scientists believe it is the main agent spreading the virus.

But there are fears that MBM is still coming into Britain and the rest of Europe from countries such as Brazil, Argentina and China.

Prof Wilesmith told BBC Radio: 'There is still a possibility one could get cross-contamination in the holds of ships and so on because meat and bone meal has been traded around the world and we know that a certain number of countries have it (BSE)."

In the research, embryos produced by BSE-infected cattle were put in the wombs of surrogate mothers. None of them nor their calves contracted BSE.
Daily Mail, Tuesday 26th February 2002, Sean Poulter

STEVEN RANSOM COMMENT: Once again, how deeply do our government 'experts' scratch only the surface of the issue? No mention is made of the fact that the 'BSE' illnesses in cattle are very probably linked to the high level of ICI-manufactured Phosmet - a highly toxic, phosphorus-based chemical which was applied to the cattle in a bid to rid them of the harmless warble fly. UK farmer Mark Purdey spent many years investigating this whole area. His research into BSE also implicates multitudinous organophosphates ploughed into British soil. These chemicals are produced by very large pharmaceutical companies and therefore, this news does not make the headlines of those papers in which drug companies spend copious amounts on advertising. A full report on the truth behind foot and mouth, BSE and a whole host of fraudulently reported human epidemics can be found in my Credence title, "Plague, Pestilence and the Pursuit of Power".

"Steven reveals the very unhealthy world of the politics of fear and big business posing as medicine. A necessary read for those who wish to be introduced to how the real world works, and for those who wish to see an end to establishment brain-washing." Stefan Lanka, Vice President, Science, Medicine and Human Rights.

"Vested interests, crooked politics and vast, out-of-control corporations, this book explains why the current establishment, not Foot and Mouth, is fatal for the countryside, and indeed the country as a whole. A truly gripping read." Zac Goldsmith, Editor, The Ecologist

"Had I read a book as straightforward and understandable as Plague, Pestilence and the Pursuit of Power years ago, I would have realised just how evil some elements of politics are. No government would dare to make this educational book a part of the syllabus, as it tells too much of the truth. Steven has written an expose which could well lead to it being a banned text in the near future." Greg Lance-Watkins, Chairman, National Foot & Mouth Group