U.S. CATTLE MUST BE PROTECTED FROM POSSIBLE FOREIGN DISEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 31, 1998) – All appropriate science-based measures must be used to protect the health of the U.S. cattle herd as the U.S. government considers a permit to import 5,000 head of feeder cattle transshipped through Mexico from Australia, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) said today.

NCBA President Clark Willingham, a cattle producer from Dallas, TX, raised the concerns in a letter to Michael Dunn, Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA. Willingham requested a meeting with Dunn to review the issue and to ensure that necessary measures are being taken to protect the U.S. cattle herd from the introduction of diseases potentially carried by live cattle from Australia.

"If a permit is granted before such a meeting, it may be necessary for us to file an injunction in United States District Court to stop the transshipment of these cattle," he said.

"NCBA supports the principles of fair and free trade," Willingham added. "We are also dedicated to ensuring that all appropriate science-based sanitary and phytosanitary measures are in place and in use to protect U.S. animal and plant agricultural sectors from the potential devastation of foreign animal diseases."

-- NCBA --

Initiated in 1898, NCBA is the marketing organization and trade association for America’s one 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.