KDFWR officials are advising Kentucky hunters planning to hunt in Canada this fall to first check the status of a recent ban on importing ruminant animals or ruminant products into the United States. This includes cows, sheep, goats, and deer and elk species.
In May, a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly called Mad Cow Disease, was discovered in a cow in a facility in northern Alberta, Canada. This discovery has prompted a temporary federal ban on importing any domestic or non-domestic cows, sheep, goats, deer or other similar animals used as food products from Canada into the U.S.
It is not known at this time how long the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration will keep the protective importation ban in place. The ban is standard operating procedure in situations like this. There has never been a confirmed case of Mad Cow Disease in the U.S.
For more information, log on to www.fda.gov.