| Regarding the Ingredient Lamb |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Monday, 19 February 2007 | |
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We have sold frozen lamb whenever it is made available by our vendors. Occasionally, I would inquire about sheeps heads. Sheeps heads have been (very successfully) fed to dogs for centuries in Europe. Whenever we would get close to making an acquisition it would somehow get blocked.In a conversation with an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we were informed that heads could not be used as animal feed. A disease called Scrapie, manifests itself in the brain of sheep. This ailment is untreatable and fatal. Confirmation of this disorder was made in the Merck Manual, 7th edition, page number 622. TREMBLANTE DU MOUTON, is the formal name. It is an unconventional virus that attacks the brain. It is spread in pastures and by direct contact with other animals. Scrapie, is primarily a disease of sheep. Visual signs are chronic wasting (lasting months) accompanied by tremors. The manual goes on to state that mink (deliberately) fed scrapie infected protein develop the disease and die. It appears, and I am not as clear I would like to be, that certain similarities exist between scrapie and the mad cow disease, in the UK. (see Epidemiology and Control, page number 623.) In conclusion, Scrapie has been in the United States since 1947. This would suggest that there is no cause for alarm or panic. New Zealand, I am told, has Scrapie free sheep. For those of us that wish to sell or feed lamb this option should be examined. |
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