A MAD cow could end up wrecking the famous two-week-long, 1600-kilometre Yukon Quest dog-sled race in February.
Racing huskies are generally given beef-free dry food. But many are also fed beef hearts, liver or tripe to boost their performance. However, the discovery of a lone cow infected with BSE in the US could change all that.
Canada now refuses to import US beef, while the US will not import Canadian beef following the country鈥檚 own BSE case last year. That means race organisers will not be able to transport beef titbits across the border to be dropped off in caches en route from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon.
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鈥淢ushers spend years and years perfecting the diets for their team. To alter that diet even in a minor way during the event, it can鈥檛 be done,鈥� says Stephen Reynolds, the race manager in Whitehorse. He is now urgently lobbying for an exemption to the ban.