Mad-cow case spurs group's complaint

By Warren King
Seattle Times medical reporter

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A citizen watchdog group filed a claim against the state government yesterday, charging the Washington State Beef Commission was negligent in allowing sick cows at risk of mad-cow disease to be processed for consumption.

"The commission should have alerted the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and worked with the agency to ensure there was a comprehensive testing program to ensure the beef was safe," said Shawn Newman, attorney for CLEAN, which stands for Citizens for Leaders with Ethics and Accountability Now. A sick, or "downer," cow from Mabton, Yakima County, was diagnosed last month with mad-cow disease, the first in the United States.

Newman said he and another attorney last March petitioned the state attorney general and Lewis County prosecutor to take action against Midway Meats, a Chehalis beef processor, after news reports that the company was processing "downer" cows and violating state laws requiring the humane treatment of animals. Midway Meats processed the animal that was diagnosed with mad-cow disease. No action was taken on the petition.

In a tort claim against the state, a prelude to a lawsuit, CLEAN says evidence from correspondence between state and industry officials, obtained with public-records requests, shows state officials were aware that many downer cows were being processed without being tested for mad-cow disease. The claim says damages are unknown at this point.

"My hope is that this (legal action) will get to the truth: that the government agency responsible for ensuring the safety of the public with regard to safe beef was negligent. ... They harmed the public and the industry," Newman said.

State officials were not available late yesterday for comment on the claim. CLEAN, a nonprofit volunteer organization, has advocated for a number of causes, including fair elections, open meetings and whistle-blower protection.

Warren King: 206-464-2247

5 cows in Franklin County traced to Canadian herd

YAKIMA — Five more cows from a herd of Canadian cattle that entered the country with a Holstein infected with mad-cow disease have been traced to a facility in the Central Washington town of Connell, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday.

Fewer than two dozen cows have been located from the Canadian herd of 81 cattle that entered the country in 2001, the USDA said in a news release.

In addition to the five cows found at Connell, Franklin County, about 30 miles north of Pasco, one cow was found earlier at a dairy farm in Quincy, Grant County, and three were at a dairy farm in Mattawa, Grant County.

Nine others were traced to the Mabton farm from where the sick cow was sent to slaughter. Authorities have identified 129 cows at that farm to be killed and tested for the disease.

— The Associated Press

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