British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg said Thursday there was no need for additional measures to combat mad-cow disease, in spite of new evidence that the disease could be passed from cow to calf.
A British study showing such transmission did occur was presented Thursday to European Union veterinary experts, and EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler immediately wrote to Britain expressing concern about the implications.
Hogg said: “There is no concern in terms of human health flowing from these conclusions. In terms of human health, the existing precautions are already sufficient to guarantee safety.”
But he conceded that some calves might have to be slaughtered.
“But we’re not, I hope, talking about slaughtering all calves, all the progeny of infected dams, because that is wholly inconsistent with the evidence,” he said.
