The re-election of George Bush has pleased Canadian cattle producers, many of whom believe it will bring a close to “a mad cow disease nightmare” that has cost the industry billions of dollars.

In May 2003 the USA banned imports of cattle from Canada after a case of BSE was found in an imported cow. In August 2003 the ban was lifted on boneless beef from cattle under 30 months, with beef from older cattle still active. There have been numerous attempts by the Canadian authorities to persuade the US government to lift the ban which has reportedly cost the country more than $4 billion. With the presidential race out of the way the farmers are hoping the free-trade friendly Republicans will move quickly to reopen their borders.

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