After waiting patiently for 15 long months, we are appealing to the
historical sense of justice and fair play of the American people to
help us get the U.S. border open to Canadian alpacas.
Many people do not know that the BSE or mad cow disease has
prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to place a ban on all
ruminants – not just cattle – entering the U.S. from Canada.
All animals that “chew a cud” are banned, including our alpacas,
even though they are not a food animal and you can only get mad
cow disease by eating an infected animal.
We can’t seem to get anyone in authority to pay attention to our
plight. There is no scientific evidence to support the BSE ban
applying to alpacas. In fact there is much evidence to support
exempting alpacas from the border ban.
The international standards outlined in the BSE chapter of the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code
identifies BSE as a disease of the family Bovidae which includes
cattle, bison, sheep, goats, musk ox, buffaloes and water buffaloes.
It is not classified as a ruminant disease
A leading U.S. alpaca vet, Dr. David Anderson of Ohio State
University, has emphasized the fact that alpacas are not susceptible
to BSE and the State Veterinarian for Arizona has supported alpacas
being exempted from the ban. These are only a couple of qualified
individuals who have publicly stated their opinion that alpacas are
unfairly caught in this ban.
Australia from the start of this crisis has kept its border open to
Canadian alpacas while closing its borders to Canadian beef
products. Canada followed suit by not banning U.S. alpacas after
BSE was discovered in a U.S. cow. This follows the World
Organization for Animal Health recommendations that BSE is a
bovidae disease.
To make matters worse, there are a number of alpacas owned by
U.S. citizens that are trapped north of the border by this
unsupportable ban.
Please help us by contacting your representatives in Washington,
D.C., and ask them to remedy this unfair situation.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Stew and Barbara Lang
Fibre Finders at Turning Tide Ranch
4065 Sahtlam Road
Duncan, B.C. Canada V9L 6K3
[email protected]
1-250-748-5767