Morocco takes preventive measures against Mad Cow disease

The Moroccan ministry of agriculture, rural development, water and forests has announced preventive measures to reduce contamination by BSE (Bovine Spongiform encephalopathy), known as the mad cow disease.

An official told MAP the ministry issued on November 8 a notice to all Moroccan importers informing them that only cows born after January 1st, 1996 (when the effective ban on the use of animal waste in feed entered into force) will be admitted in Morocco. The measure, he explained, is an additional guarantee to protect Moroccan herds against the disease.

The ministry also denied that some Moroccan importers are taking advantage of the collapse of prices to import bovines from countries where BSE is spread, mainly Holland and France.

According to another statement of the department, Morocco adopted in 1996 measures to consolidate BSE epidemiological surveillance and to conduct analyses on a regular basis on samples of brains of all slaughtered bovines, MAP reported.