The US MAD Cow Wasn't A Downer

Cow's 'downer' status comes into question

Three people have come forward to assert that the cow was not a downer. While their stories vary on what happened Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meats, their accounts agree on a key point: The cow was able to walk on its own.

The distinction on whether the cow could stand is significant. The department's search for mad cow disease has focussed on downed cattle or those with obvious signs of neurological damage. The suggestion that the diseased Washington Holstein had neither problem raises the possibility that detection of that cow's disease may have been a stroke of luck.