The discovery of a three-year-old friesian cow in Co Kerry cow suffering from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) on a farm is a setback in the programme to rid the national herd of the disease.
The Department of Agriculture has launched an investigation to establish if there is a link between the case reported today and a similar one reported more than three weeks ago in Co Limerick.
It is thought that such a link is unlikely.
The segregation of meat and bonemeal ration manufacturing for pigs and poultry from cattle feed in 1996 should have started the decline in the number of cases to be expected in the national herd.
The discovery of the disease in a second animal will, no doubt, be used by Ireland's competitors in the international beef markets to point out that it could be another decade or more before we can claim BSE-free status.
So far this year more cases of BSE have been reported than ever before. The number of confirmed cases now stands at 333 - 87 more than last year.
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