Situation:
No BSE positives had been found in the U.S.

Entities Affected:

• Federally-inspected plants
• State-inspected plants

• Federally-inspected plants
• State-inspected plants
• Custom-exempt plants

Cattle Prohibited from Slaughter:

• Dead or dying
• Showing clinical signs of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder

Note: All seriously crippled cattle and cattle commonly termed "downers" presented for slaughter were identified as "U.S. Suspects." (9 Code of Federal Regulations 309.2(b))

• Dead or dying
• Showing clinical signs of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder
• Non-ambulatory disabled cattle - [Cattle] "that cannot rise from a recumbent position or cannot walk, including, but not limited to, those with broken appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, fractured vertebral column or metabolic conditions."
  -They are not allowed to enter the plant. (Interim final rule and request for comments was published January 12, 2004. A notice has also been published.)

General Inspection Procedures:
Certain Non-ambulatory Disabled Cattle were allowed to be slaughtered.

• An FSIS veterinarian had to inspect non-ambulatory cattle before slaughter (ante-mortem inspection) and had three options:
  1. Hold the animal for further observation.
  2. Pass the animal for immediate slaughter as a U.S. Suspect animal.
  3. Condemn the animal. Animals could not be slaughtered and enter the human food chain if they were:
     • Dead or dying,
     • Showed signs of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders.
       (9 Code of Federal Regulations 309.2(b))

• Document all animal identification and ensure that it remained with the carcass (in case the animal would need to be traced back to its producer).
• Notify the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). An APHIS veterinarian would collect a sample of the brain tissue and submit it to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
• Document the time, date and person notified in APHIS.
• Assist APHIS in arrangements at the plant to collect the sample, so that the animal's disorder could be identified.
• If APHIS was not immediately available, save the head, with brain intact, and chill (not freeze), so that samples would be available for APHIS.
• Ensure that regulations were followed in disposing of the condemned carcass.
• Ensure that humane slaughter procedures were followed. (FSIS Directive 6900.1, Revision 1, 11-2-98)

• Non-ambulatory disabled cattle are not allowed to enter any Federal, State, or custom-exempt facility. Procedures for disposing of the animal must be in place. (Interim final rule and request for comments was published January 12, 2004).

• Conducts ante-mortem inspection on all non-ambulatory disabled cattle presented for slaughter.
• Marks them "U.S. condemned."
• Condemns all cattle showing CNS symptoms, even if animal is ambulatory.
• Cattle condemned upon ante-mortem cannot enter plant.
• If non-ambulatory or condemned for CNS symptoms, and there is reason to believe they are 20 months or older, inform APHIS Area Veterinarian-in-Charge (AVIC) to allow APHIS opportunity to collect BSE surveillance samples.
• If a sample is collected, ensure all animal identification is maintained. Also, maintain control of the animal until plant documents how it will be properly disposed of.
• If AVIC notifies FSIS Veterinarian that it is not possible to go to the plant, maintain control of the animal until the plant documents proper disposal.
• Ensure that humane slaughter procedures are followed. (FSIS Directive 6900.1, Revision 1, 11-2-98)
• Verify disposal of carcass. Can inform plant management that lined landfills are acceptable for disposal. (Interim final rule and request for comments was published January 12, 2004. A notice has also been published.)
• At request of owner or operator, condemned cattle can be set apart and held for treatment, under supervision of FSIS employee or designee of District Manager.
• If an animal is released for purposes other than slaughter, owner or operator must first obtain permission from local, State, or Federal livestock sanitary official having jurisdiction.
• In rare cases, a normal, healthy animal sustains acute injury on the way to the knock box. FSIS veterinarian can allow the animal to proceed to postmortem.

• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) randomly tested for BSE in cattle that appeared healthy (surveillance).
• Meat from the tested healthy animals could be shipped into commerce before the test results were confirmed.

• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) randomly tests for BSE in cattle that appear healthy (surveillance).
• Meat from tested cattle that appear healthy will be held until the tests are confirmed negative.
• APHIS will continue BSE surveillance and testing at an increased rate.

• Plants were responsible for the disposal of carcasses of condemned cattle.

• Non-ambulatory disabled cattle will not be allowed to enter a plant.
• FSIS will verify that plants properly dispose of condemned livestock.