HEALTH OF US HERDS INTACT: AUSTRALIAN CATTLE TO REMAIN IN MEXICO

WASHINGTON, D.C., (September 18, 1998) - One month after hearing about a shipment of 5,000 Australian cattle waiting for passage into the United States, NCBA officers received assurances from USDA Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Michael Dunn that the cattle are no longer being considered for importation. According to officials at USDA, the request for an import permit for the Australian cattle was recently withdrawn, largely as a result of concerns raised by NCBA leadership and members regarding animal health issues.

At a meeting today in Washington D.C. with Assistant Secretary Dunn, NCBA and state affiliate representatives reinforced the importance of maintaining proper protocols when it comes to foreign cattle, and protecting the health of US cattle herds. Those in attendance at today's meeting were NCBA president Clark Willingham (Dallas, TX); NCBA Cattle Health and Well Being Committee chair Dr. Burke Healey (Oklahoma City, OK); NCBA Cattle Health and Well Being Committee vice chair Gary Wilson (New Concord, OH); Bruce Davis from the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association; and Burton Eller, representing the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

"We succeeded in assuring that APHIS would not allow transshipment of Australian cattle because the existing health protocols ire not suited to this situation," said Clark Willingham. "APHIS has assured us that they will work on developing protocol that includes a risk analysis and is agreed to by the US, Australia and Mexico before issuing any import permits. That's a big victory for our members."

"The past month is a great example of the influence that NCBA membership was able to demonstrate on this issue, and of what can be accomplished with the cooperation of state health officials," said Dr. Burke Healey, chairman of NCBA's Cattle Health and Well Being Committee.

APHIS officials have been invited by NCBA leadership to attend the cattle industry's 1999 Annual Convention and Trade Show in Charlotte next February to outline plans for handling situations like the Australian cattle situation in the future.

-NCBA-

Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the marketing organization and trade association for America's me million cattle farmers and ranchers. With offices in Denver Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-focused, producer-directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry.