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To: lurqer who wrote (33801)	12/29/2003 6:13:03 PM
From: elpolvo	Respond to of 89467

ahoy ye scabrous mongrel- i think there's a parrot owner's for dean group too but beware, there be pirates in thet mix. -capt'n "smith"

To: lurqer who wrote (33801)	12/29/2003 8:38:24 PM
From: Clappy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Eight more Canadian-born dairy cows being traced in U.S. mad cow probe WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2003 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- U.S. officials are tracing another eight imported dairy cattle from Canada, saying Monday they now believe a Holstein with mad cow disease was born four months before the start of safety restrictions on cattle feed. American officials say the diseased cow probably came from an Alberta farm to Washington state with 73 others in 2001. Another shipment of eight cows from the same herd followed later. The age of the cow was one discrepancy between U.S. and Canadian records that raised questions about whether the Holstein actually came from Canada. But Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian with the U.S. Agriculture Department, said he talked Sunday with the Washington state herd owner who found original documents on the animal. They indicate the animal was born in April 1997, agreeing with Canadian information, said DeHaven, who emphasized that only DNA testing will positively confirm the cow's origin. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein complained Monday that a U.S. announcement made Saturday about the cow coming from Canada was premature. "It's a difficult call on our part in term of keeping the public informed . . . and not being premature," said DeHaven. "But it would be disingenuous not to say our primary line of inquiry takes us back to Canada." The news came as a huge blow to an industry devastated by the discovery of the disease in an Alberta beef cow in May. The United States and other countries immediately closed their borders to Canadian beef products, sparking a loss of more than $1.9 billion Cdn in exports. Decisions by some 30 countries to refuse U.S. beef exports in response to the latest case, revealed last week, have been based "largely on public perception and not what we know about the science," said DeHaven. "Even with the finding of this single cow, the U.S. remains at very low risk." He did not explain how that squares with the punishing American ban on Canadian beef after the discovery that a lone cow had bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE. American officials are scrambling to find all of the other imported dairy animals from the herd for testing and have traced meat products to eight states and the territory of Guam that are being recalled. DeHaven didn't rule out the possibility that some of the feed that likely infected the Holstein came from the United States. "We have a highly integrated system; we have acknowledged that from the beginning." Feed containing animal parts such as brain and spinal cord tissue, the primary means of infection, was banned across North America in August 1997. DeHaven said it's premature to say whether there's any connection between the two diseased cows. Humans who eat brain or spinal tissue from an infected cow can develop a brain-wasting illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. During a mad cow outbreak in Britain in the 1980s, 143 people died. Canadian producers went into the holiday season with high hopes the United States would soon lift its ban on the trade of live cattle early in the new year. Some fear that could be in peril now. Public comments on allowing young cattle across the border are due Jan. 5 and DeHaven said officials are encouraging opinion, especially given the new mad cow case. "This new information will be given all due consideration," he said. The diseased Holstein had three calves after she entered the United States, American officials said. One died, and another remains in a herd in Washington state. A third calf, a male, is being held in isolation. DeHaven said it would be highly unlikely that mad cow disease could be transmitted to calves from an infected animal. He also said there was no reason to question the safety of the U.S. meat supply since the source of the disease is not found in muscle tissue, the source of roasts, steaks and other beef cuts. While the United States scrambles to assure Americans and foreign customers that its meat is safe, it's also facing hard questions about the adequacy of its BSE testing. The United States annually tests only about 20,000 animals a year, said DeHaven. Those tested are the ones that show central nervous system disorders or so-called downer cows that have trouble moving at time of slaughter. "One of the things we're looking at is additional testing." Americans don't have a system to track which farms produced sick cattle, now required in Europe, Canada and Japan. - The following countries have banned U.S. beef because of a case of mad cow disease in a Washington state cow: -Argentina -Australia -Brazil -Bulgaria -Cambodia -Canada (ban limited to processed meats) -Chile -China, including Hong Kong -Colombia -Costa Rica -Egypt -Indonesia -Jamaica -Japan -Jordan -Kuwait -Lebanon -Malaysia -Mexico -Nicaragua -Peru -Russia -Singapore -South Africa -South Korea -Taiwan -Thailand -Ukraine -Uruguay -Venezuela -Vietnam - Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, AP sources The online source for news sports entertainment finance and business news in Canada Search news stories

To: lurqer who wrote (33801)	12/29/2003 9:59:25 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

"And now for something completely different" (Was Monty reticulated?) Captured python said to be world's biggest snake It's a fussy eater, apparently. But when you are longer than a double-decker bus, and weigh as much as six grown men, you can afford to be. Certainly, the owners of a zoo in Indonesia haven't been quibbling over the dietary needs of an enormous python, which prefers to eat four fierce brown dogs every month. The snake, they claimed yesterday, is the longest and heaviest ever captured. Doing so was no mean feat in itself. According to reports, it took 65 men and the blessing of a tribal leader to snare it. Officials at the zoo in Curugsewu, central Java, told the Republika newspaper that the reticulated python is 14.85m (49ft) long and has a maximum body circumference of 85cm (almost three feet). It weighs, they say, 447kg (70 stone, 3lbs). It was impossible to verify the claim yesterday because the only photos available were of the black and brown reptile curled up, apparently asleep. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest captured snake as a 9.75m (32ft) reticulated python found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 1912. The heaviest is a 182.76kg Burmese python in Illinois, US. Republika quoted a keeper at the zoo, Rohmad, as saying that when the unnamed snake was captured, in Jambi province on Sumatra in mid-2002, it was 19m long. Four metres reportedly had to be severed after a rotten deer was found undigested in its stomach. Reticulated pythons, found across south-east Asia, are considered the longest snake species but adults usually measure only between three and six metres long. They kill their prey by biting it, hanging on with their 100 teeth and then squeezing it to death by wrapping their bodies around it. Mr Rohmad said its diet includes three to four local dogs a month but that it is rather fussy about its food. "We have given it dogs of various colours but this snake didn't want to eat them," he was quoted as saying. "It only wants to eat fierce brown dogs." He added that the python sheds its skin every 35 days, taking 10 days to do so. It was captured by a 58-year-old python expert from east Java who was summoned to Jambi after locals, who stumbled upon it while foraging for wood, were too afraid to approach it. The expert reportedly needed 65 helpers to snare the python and the blessing of tribal leaders as pythons are regarded as deities by many locals. The python is proving a major attraction. About 700 people visit the Curugsewu zoo every day to admire the new, albeit rather lazy, star. Mr Rohmad said most visitors keep well away as they are afraid the snake will suddenly escape and attack them. Reticulated pythons have been known to attack humans, but we are not regarded as its usual or favourite fare. The head of the government district, Hendi Budoro, said he had only recently heard about the python. "I have just appointed a team to investigate this snake so we cannot confirm its weight and height yet," he said. "It might take some time but it would be a great honour for us if it is true." guardian.co.uk lurqer