Yes. BSE stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and it is widely referred to as "mad cow disease." It is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. BSE is named because of the spongy appearance of the brain tissue of infected cattle examined under a microscope.

Our animals have had no access to contaminated animal by-product feed in any shape or form. For that matter, animal by-products of bonemeal and meat scrapes have been banned since 1997. Pasture finishing on high quality forage and management eliminates the risk. We simply know each animal personally and they are in perfect health at the point of harvest. Our animals are segregated at harvest and kept separate through the entire harvest and fabrication process. Plus we know their life history.

No transmission of mad cow disease has ever been connected with the dairy industry, either in the U.S. or abroad. To be certain, choose a company that certifies their colostrum to be free of List A diseases like BSE (cause of mad cow disease).

Milk from cows with Mad Cow Disease, also known as BSE, is not believed to pose any risk to humans or to other animals. Experiments have shown that milk from affected cows has not caused infections in either the same species or in other test animals. There has been only one case of BSE ever found in the United States. The U.S. tests over 20,000 animals yearly to insure that the meat being consumed in this country is as safe as possible. The U.S.

BSE is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting bovines, commonly known as cattle. Specifically, BSE stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. As its name indicates, it causes sponge-like microscopic changes in the brains of cattle, and produces behavior, such as staggering, that gives rise to the name mad cow disease. BSE results when a prion protein becomes abnormally folded.

Worldwide there have been more than 180,000 cases of mad cow disease since it was first diagnosed in 1986 in Great Britain. Since that time, the disease has been confirmed in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland. The disease was confirmed in Canada in May 2003 and in the United States in December 2003.

Hoffman Bone Meal produced from the bones of USDA cattle only. Since there have been no cases of mad cow disease with any United States meat suppliers, there is NO way for mad cow disease to be transmitted through Hoffman bone meal.

For our clients and their cats, the answer is not so simple. So far in the united States there is no reported cases we know of. But the general answer is YES, please review this article http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/resources/madcow.htm .

No. Mad Cow Disease is an illness of cattle. However, a new form of human TSE has appeared in England called the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (vCJD). In recent years, over 100 cases of vCJD have been confirmed in England. Mounting evidence suggests that the cluster of vCJD is due to the same agent that caused BSE in cattle.

The single cow discovered to have mad cow disease in Washington state is likely the tip of the iceberg. Mad cow disease (or a variant of it) has existed in the U.S. for ten years, according to research published in 1993 by Dr. Richard Marsh of the University of Wisconsin, whose findings “suggest the presence of an unrecognized BSE-like disease in the United States.

The recent case of BSE confirmed in Washington State was the first such case in the United States. Because this animal originated in Canada, there have as yet been no infected animals originating in the United States.

Not having seen the innards of such a diseased cow, we can't tell you. As you know that according to Jewish Law, every slaughtered animal must undergo a visual inspection covering major life threatening illness, but will a cow in early stages of such a disease show clear visible problems? Our unprofessional guess is NO. Is it a problem? Very definitely.

No. BSE is not a contagious disease. There is no evidence that the disease is transmitted through direct contact or animal-to-animal spread. The primary means by which animals become infected is through consumption of feed contaminated with the infectious BSE agent.