AnimalNet May 29/08 -- II Bosnians threatened by cattle disease, expert warns EU appeals WTO ruling in beef hormone dispute with US, Canada CANADA: Quebec Court approves BSE class action settlement deal with Ridley MONTANA Stockgrowers Assoc. upset over bison management CANADA: Information session for backyard poultry flock owners how to subscribe Bosnians threatened by cattle disease, expert warns 29.may.08 Agence France Presse http://www.france24.com/en/20080522-bosnians-threatened-cattle-disease-expert-warns Zlatko Puvacic, the chief epidemiologist of the Muslim-Croat half of Bosnia, was cited as telling AFP that an alarming rise in cases of Bosnians infected with the rare animal disease brucellosis requires urgent action to prevent it from spreading, adding, "The number of people who were registered with the infection this year is 395. The situation is very, very serious." At least another 1,000 people in the Muslim-Croat Federation had been infected by brucellosis but were not registered since they were yet to see a doctor, Puvacic estimated. A precise figure on those currently infected with the animal disease was unknown. Puvacic said health authorities "must urgently undertake measures to prevent further spreading of the disease." He called for the establishment of quarantine facilities for infected cattle, mainly sheep, and for the proper disposal of the remains of euthanised animals.   top EU appeals WTO ruling in beef hormone dispute with US, Canada 29.may.08 from a press release http://www.pr-inside.com/eu-appeals-wto-ruling-in-beef-r615274.htm GENEVA--The European Union on Thursday appealed a World Trade Organization ruling that backed U.S. and Canadian arguments against the 27-nation bloc's import ban on beef treated with hormones. Brussels said it welcomed certain elements of the March verdict, but disagreed with the WTO panel's finding that the EU continues to illegally ban hormone-treated beef. The EU also cited the panel's failure to order the U.S. and Canada to remove retaliatory sanctions against European products. «The EU believes that the panel made legal errors when it found that the new EU hormones directive does not comply» with WTO rules, the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, said in a statement. The EU says beef treated with certain hormones poses a risk to human health. For other hormones, it has argued that a «precautionary principle» ought to be respected because scientific tests cannot yet prove their safety. But Canada and the U.S. have persuaded the WTO that there is no solid scientific evidence to support a ban. In 1999, the global commerce body authorized Washington and Ottawa to impose US$125 million (¤80.4 million) worth of duties a year on European goods _ sanctions which remain in force. The complicated ruling from March said Washington and Ottawa should have initiated new legal proceedings in order to maintain the sanctions, but allowed them to maintain punitive duties worth tens of millions of dollars (euros) a year on European products such as Roquefort cheese, truffles and Dijon mustard. The commission said WTO arbiters were not entitled to rule on the legality of the EU's hormone ban and «failed to establish the facts objectively. The panel «exceeded its powers by selectively relying on scientific experts that lacked the required impartiality, rather than accepting the existence of legitimate scientific controversy and uncertainty,» the commission said. Brussels brought the case back to the WTO in February 2005 after Washington and Ottawa refused to review their sanctions in light of new EU directives upholding the bans. The EU said the U.S. and Canada were also likely to appeal the latest ruling. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington could not immediately comment.   top CANADA: Quebec Court approves BSE class action settlement deal with Ridley 29.may.08 The Canadian Press http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdfhNoN-u_SmXYPcz45Vgn4AVTOA WINNIPEG — Animal feed company Ridley Inc. was cited as saying Thursday that the Quebec Superior Court has approved a settlement agreement in a mad cow class action lawsuit filed against the company and the Canadian government, stating, "While affecting only the Quebec lawsuit, the Quebec court's order is a significant step toward final resolution of the pending BSE cases against Ridley." A hearing is scheduled in Ontario Superior Court on June 9 for the approval of the settlement agreement in the Ontario. Under the agreement reached earlier this year, Ridley made no admission of liability or wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $6 million into a plaintiffs' settlement trust fund. Ridley will remain a participant in the ongoing litigation as plaintiffs continue their claim against the Canadian government.   top MONTANA Stockgrowers Assoc. upset over bison management 29.may.08 Montana's News Station http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=8394527&nav=menu227_2 Members of the Montana Stockgrowers Association say that the Montana Board of Livestock has failed to properly manage bison on the western edge of Yellowstone National Park, which has resulted in increased risk of brucellosis spreading from Bison to cattle. The Montana Stockgrowers Association says that for the last three years, the state has not put bison back into the park by May 15th as mandated in the Interagency Bison Management plan. The Stockgrowers lawsuit asks the Fifth Judicial District Court to immediately force the Board of Livestock to remove bison from property bordering Yellowstone National Park.   top CANADA: Information session for backyard poultry flock owners 29.may.08 Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=401959&categoryid=16 Saint-Isidore, Québec -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), invite owners of small or backyard poultry flocks to attend an information session on how to help prevent and detect poultry diseases, such as avian influenza. Area bird owners and the general public are welcome to drop in from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at the Saint-Isidore Municipal Centre located at 130 Coulombe road, Saint-Isidore, Québec. Veterinarians from the CFIA and MAPAQ will be available to answer questions. A series of presentations will also be held throughout the evening. Topics include preventing the spread and introduction of disease, how to spot the signs of illness and what to do if a disease is detected Additional sessions are being held across Canada later this year. For more information about this public information session, please call Mélanie Cardin from the CFIA at 514-283-3815 ext. 4220. Additional information is also available on the CFIA website, www.inspection.gc.ca.   top Animalnet is produced by the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University, and is supported at the Gold Fork level by: Marler Clark. 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