Animal feed ban 'almost certain'

Germany has already agreed on tighter feed restrictions

MADRID, Spain -- The European Union commissioner for food safety says he is confident agriculture ministers will agree to a ban on all meat-based animal feed as a means to combat BSE, or mad cow disease.

David Byrne's proposal to ban the meat and bone meal which is believed to be a cause of mad cow disease received a setback on Thursday when EU veterinary chiefs were unable to reach a decision.

They passed the issue to a farm ministers' meeting to be held on Monday where he expects a more positive outcome.

"I expect that we will achieve consensus on Monday," Byrne told a news conference in Madrid.

"There may be some amendments here or there, but as long as the proposal that has been announced remains substantially intact, I will be happy."

Byrne proposes that a ban should last six months initially, starting from January 1.

Feeding meat-based meal to cattle is believed to be a cause of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

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Scientists suspect eating tainted meat can lead to the deadly human form, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which has killed 85 people in Britain and two in France since 1996.

Move for an EU-wide ban come as Germany's upper house of parliament approved a unilateral ban on meat and bonemeal in animal feed.

The legislation, banning the feed for pigs and poultry as well as cattle and sheep, was approved by the parliament's lower house on Thursday and the express passage of the ban ensures it can take effect from Saturday.

German officials are also checking whether pastures spread the disease and are considering burning huge stocks of animal feed in power plants.

VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports on the steps Germany is taking after cows are found to be infected Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Consumers have been unsettled by fears that eating beef could lead to an outbreak in Germany of vCJD.

Faced with the first cases of the disease in Germany and Spain last week, the European Commission was forced this week to propose tough new controls including the controversial feed ban.

But even if farm ministers reach agreement on Monday, EU diplomats believe French President Jacques Chirac will use his country's position as EU president to press at the summit for more financial help for his country's beef farmers.

A package of financial compensation could cover the destruction of meat and bone meal, the culling of untested cattle aged above 30 months and the growing of more oilseeds needed as an alternative to meat-based fodder.

The compensation could run to five billion euros ($4.37 billion) a year.

Even so, an EU-wide ban on all meat-based animal feed, coming in the wake of the dramatic rise in French BSE cases and the recent discovery of the disease in Germany and Spain, is not expected to receive universal support among member states.

Austrian Farm Minister Wilhelm Molterer said that extending the existing ban from cattle and sheep to pigs and poultry would lead to much higher imports of protein-rich soybeans from the United States, raising the issue of genetically modified crops.

"I can't just replace one emotional debate with another," Molterer told state radio.

And EU food and safety commissioner Franz Fischler, the architect of the export ban on British beef that was removed last year, has warned that a ban would cost billions of euros.

The commission will also rule on whether national bans on French meat by countries including Spain, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands were justified.

EU farm ministers agreed last week that all national action in the crisis would be judged by EU scientists and dropped if found unjustified.

The EU executive may also look at extra steps to reassure consumers across Europe who are shunning beef and sending prices plummeting.

If the farm ministers' meeting fails on Monday, a summit of European leaders in Nice, France two days later will have little choice but to make time for the beef crisis.

"Farm ministers cannot afford to come away with nothing. Consumer opinion on beef is running so high," Paul Brenton, from the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Germany halts meat-based animal feed
November 29, 2000
EU concern over BSE beef bans
November 28, 2000
European governments blamed for BSE crisis
November 27, 2000
Demands for mandatory tests across EU for BSE
November 25, 2000
Germany calls for action over BSE
November 24, 2000

European Union
World Health Organization - BSE and vCJD fact sheets
UK BSE Inquiry
The European Commission

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