Beef industry awaits confirmation of BSE reports

Ireland's beef industry is today awaiting confirmation of reports that BSE has been discovered in a three-and-a-half-year-old bullock.

The story emerged yesterday, but it will not be confirmed until the Department of Agriculture releases its weekly round-up of the BSE cases detected in the previous seven days.

The Government introduced strict controls at the height of the BSE crisis in the mid-1990s and Irish beef is currently being marketed on the strength of the fact that no animal born since then has tested positive for the disease.

The reported discovery of BSE in a three-and-a-half-year-old animal, therefore, could have serious implications for the beef industry.