Background:
Mad Cow" disease, more correctly known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), became epidemic in Europe (firstin Great Britain in 1985) in the mid- and late 1980s. The disease is characterized by the formation of vacuoles (holes) inthe animal's brain, giving the brain a "spongy" appearance. As the disease progresses, the animal tremors, displaysabnormal and sometimes aggressive behaviors, and then begins to lose muscle control eventually leading to death.
The appearance of BSE in European cattle is thought maybe to have resulted from the previously-common practice ofincluding slaughtering by-products from sheep (including brain, spinal cords, lymphatic tissues, and bone meal) in cattlefeed as a protein supplement. Sheep and goats have been known for hundreds of years to suffer from a similar spongiformencephalopathy, called "scrapie". However, even though the cause of this disease was unknown, it was long regardedthat scrapie was unique to sheep and could not be transmitted to other species of animals.
The European BSE epidemic was regarded as solely an agricultural disaster, with millions of animals being destroyed toprevent the spread of the disease.

Effects on the industry:

A new economic impact study finds the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in the U.S. led to beef industry losses of as much as $4.7 billion in 2004

More than 170,000 cattle in England, Scotland and Wales have contracted BSE since 1988.
More than a million unwanted calves have been slaughtered, and more than two and a quarter million older cattle killed, their remains dumped in case they might be harbouring the infection.
In May, one of the biggest cattle markets, at Banbury in Oxfordshire, closed down. A victim at least in part, of this bizarre crisis.
The total cost of BSE to the taxpayer is set