By TERRY WEBER
Monday, April 11, 2005 Updated at 11:59 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
A class-action suit seeking $7-billion on behalf of Canadian cattle producers was launched Monday, charging that Ottawa's “gross negligence” resulted in the mad-cow crisis that brought this country's beef industry to its knees.
The suit, filed in Toronto on behalf of farmers from across the country, argues that a federal monitoring program lost track of 80 out of 191 imported cows, which were supposed to be monitored for signs of mad-cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE).
The suit also claims that at least one of the cattle, which came to Canada from Britain in the late 1980s, was eventually ground up into feed, ultimately infecting a number of cattle which ate it.
“By the government's own admission, one or more of those 80 cattle are the most likely source of BSE in Canada,” Cameron Pallett, one of the lawyers representing the farmers, said.
“Where was the monitoring? Where was the government's concern for the health of Canadians?”
The suit also names the company that allegedly made the feed: Ridley Corp. Ltd. Lawyers for the farmers charge that the company should have known that the feed was contaminated by BSE.
In a statement of claim, the suit argues that Ridley's Australian parent company stopped using cattle remains in cattle feed in Australia in 1996. However, the suit says, the company continued to use cattle remains in Canadian feed products until the practice was banned by the Canadian government in August, 1997.
“Ridley knew the risks they were taking,” Mr. Pallett said. “They voluntarily stopped using cattle remains in their feed products in Australia in May of 1996 after discussions with Australian government representatives concerning the potential disaster that would result if BSE became an issue for the Australian cattle and beef export industry, which is the largest in the world.
" Ridley figured they could get away with it here.“ The allegations contained in the suit have yet to be proven in court.
Canada's beef industry was hammered following the discovery of a case of mad-cow disease.
The United States banned all imports of Canadian cattle and beef in May, 2003, after the discovery of a single case in Alberta. Two other cases have since been discovered.
Plans by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ease trade restrictions earlier this year – the move would have allowed importation of Canadian cattle under the age of 30 months – hit a roadblock, when a U.S. judge granted a U.S. industry group's request for an injunction.
In Monday's suit, lawyers for the farmers say the Canadian industry has lost $7-billion so far as a result of the BSE crisis and that cattle producers “deserve to be fully compensated.”
Monday, April 11, 2005 Updated at 11:59 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
A class-action suit seeking $7-billion on behalf of Canadian cattle producers was launched Monday, charging that Ottawa's “gross negligence” resulted in the mad-cow crisis that brought this country's beef industry to its knees.
The suit, filed in Toronto on behalf of farmers from across the country, argues that a federal monitoring program lost track of 80 out of 191 imported cows, which were supposed to be monitored for signs of mad-cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE).
The suit also claims that at least one of the cattle, which came to Canada from Britain in the late 1980s, was eventually ground up into feed, ultimately infecting a number of cattle which ate it.
“By the government's own admission, one or more of those 80 cattle are the most likely source of BSE in Canada,” Cameron Pallett, one of the lawyers representing the farmers, said.
“Where was the monitoring? Where was the government's concern for the health of Canadians?”
The suit also names the company that allegedly made the feed: Ridley Corp. Ltd. Lawyers for the farmers charge that the company should have known that the feed was contaminated by BSE.
In a statement of claim, the suit argues that Ridley's Australian parent company stopped using cattle remains in cattle feed in Australia in 1996. However, the suit says, the company continued to use cattle remains in Canadian feed products until the practice was banned by the Canadian government in August, 1997.
“Ridley knew the risks they were taking,” Mr. Pallett said. “They voluntarily stopped using cattle remains in their feed products in Australia in May of 1996 after discussions with Australian government representatives concerning the potential disaster that would result if BSE became an issue for the Australian cattle and beef export industry, which is the largest in the world.
" Ridley figured they could get away with it here.“ The allegations contained in the suit have yet to be proven in court.
Canada's beef industry was hammered following the discovery of a case of mad-cow disease.
The United States banned all imports of Canadian cattle and beef in May, 2003, after the discovery of a single case in Alberta. Two other cases have since been discovered.
Plans by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ease trade restrictions earlier this year – the move would have allowed importation of Canadian cattle under the age of 30 months – hit a roadblock, when a U.S. judge granted a U.S. industry group's request for an injunction.
In Monday's suit, lawyers for the farmers say the Canadian industry has lost $7-billion so far as a result of the BSE crisis and that cattle producers “deserve to be fully compensated.”
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