Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ

Frnace’s first confirmed case of mad cow disease (BSE) was identified
on a farm in the Cotes-d’Armor region of Brittany last week.

Although the infected dairy cow was born locally, its genealogy is being
investigated to determine whether it was of British descent.

The Cotes-d’Armor region imported a large number of British dairy cows
to improve its stock in the 10 years before the outbreak of BSE in Britain.

Veterinary officials are also investigating purchases by the farm’s
supplier of animal feed, to establish whether it had sold British bone meal
to the Breton farmer who owned the cow.

Officials say that French farmers are now acknowledging that they mixed
larger quantities of meal into dairy cows’ fodder than they had previously
admitted.

The official French view on BSE in French cattle is that its emergence
was only a matter of time, but that it will not be on the same scale as
in Britain because French vets are forewarned.