Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
They were interviewing a guy on TV a few years ago who had a mobile cattle foot trimming service. This is not half as gruesome as it sounds, it involves trimming the hooves of cows back if they become overgrown,totally painless, it is just like cutting your own toenails or fingernails but of course on a somewhat larger scale. Anyhow, he related one story about when during the B.S.E. crisis he asked one farmer client if he had ever had any cases of it on his farm. Now if a farmer had suspected that he had any cattle showing any symptoms of this truly awful disease (Which , by the way seems all but extinct now here in The UK, thank god) His first duty by law was to report it to his vet, who then informed the Ministry of Ag. who would then kill the animal then do a test on it's brain. if indeed the case proved to be positive, all his cloven hoofed animals on the farm( cattle, sheep, goats, pigs etc.) would have to be destroyed. I seem to remember that if the poor animal had not got BSE after all, and in fact it had just got say sunstroke (The symptoms are uncannily alike) The farmer would not be compensated for his loss. Anyway the farmer said to Mr. Foottrimmer "Oh no not at all, we have had no cases here, no problems!" Just then the farmer's little boy who had been ear-wigging the conversation between Farmer and Foot trimmer piped up "But Daddy, what about that one you shot and buried?" whooops!
(Mackeson_drinker, Wed 29 May 2013, 8:26, Reply)