USDA's key mad cow witness keeps silent

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USDA's key mad cow witness keeps silentBy Steve MitchellUnited Press InternationalPublished 3/4/2004 5:18 PMView printer-friendly version<http://upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20040304-044629-6003r>WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- A key witness in the criminal investigationannounced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector GeneralWednesday likely will be the agency veterinarian who inspected the cowinfected with mad cow disease in Washington last December.The veterinarian, Rodney Thompson, is the only witness the USDA has whosays the cow in Washington was a downer, meaning it was unable to standor walk. Three other witnesses who saw the cow the day it wasslaughtered -- on Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co. in Moses Lake,Wash. -- have said the cow was walking.So far, Thompson has not publicly divulged his side of the

story and itis uncertain whether under questioning he will maintain the cow was adowner. USDA spokespeople have kept Thompson sequestered from the pressand have refused to provide information about him.Dave Louthan, the Vern's Moses Lake employee who slaughtered the cow inquestion, alleges Thompson changed his inspection sheet under duressfrom USDA management to indicate the animal was a downer after it testedpositive for mad cow disease. The alteration was done, Louthan contends,to support the agency's official position that their detection of theinfected cow shows their surveillance program -- which is basedprimarily on testing downer animals -- is effective.The USDA Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into thematter in early February, and Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong told aHouse appropriations subcommittee Wednesday the investigation wasfocused on "possible alteration of official

records."Thompson has not spoken publicly about the issue, but USDA officers havedistributed to reporters the Dec. 9 inspection sheet he filled out. Itindicates the cow was a downer, although Thompson's signature on thesheet is blacked out.OIG spokesman Austin Chadwick told United Press International theinvestigation was spurred by a Feb. 3 New York Times article, in whichLouthan said the cow was not a downer and alleged the inspection sheethad been changed."The USDA made (Thompson) do it," Louthan told UPI, emphasizing Thompsonwas "a good and honorable man" who would never forge records on his own.If the cow was not a downer, it would raise the larger issue of whetherUSDA's mad cow surveillance program is based on faulty premises. Fongsaid her office had launched a separate investigation that will involve"an audit to review various aspects of USDA's response to the discoveryof BSE, including the BSE

response and surveillance plans."The USDA's mad cow surveillance program has been in question since themad cow was first reported Dec. 23, 2003. The agency tests so fewanimals -- only about 20,000 out of the 35 million slaughtered each year-- some critics have said it is unlikely it could detect mad cow even ifit was prevalent in the U.S. herd.UPI reported in January that mad cow testing records for the past twoyears, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal the agencyhad not tested any animals in Washington state for the first sevenmonths of 2003.If the three eyewitnesses -- Louthan, the driver of the trailer thatdelivered the cow and the co-manager of Vern's -- are correct and thecow was walking, it raises the possibility that other seemingly healthybut infected cows went undetected and were approved for humanconsumption. This is theoretically possible because hundreds of cows inEurope have tested

positive but showed no apparent symptoms of the disease.Thompson's inspection sheet shows he did not conduct two screening tests-- body temperature and illegal antibiotic residue -- that, according toUSDA regulations, are considered mandatory for all downers, aspreviously reported by UPI.Former USDA veterinarians -- including Lester Friedlander, who acted asa chief inspector at Taylor Packing in Wyalusing, Pa. -- said thisindicates the cow was either not a downer or Thompson failed to followproper protocol. The veterinarians added they thought the latterpossibility was unlikely because they never had encountered a situationwhere they could not get a body temperature and antibiotic residue teston a downer.In addition, USDA regulations stipulate the cow carcass should have beenretained since a mad cow test was being conducted. However, the carcasswas processed and sent out to grocery stores more than a week before

thepositive test results came back.Louthan said he knew Thompson well and often worked "less than a footaway" from him during his four-and-a-half years at Vern's."He's a really good veterinarian. I really liked him," said Louthan, whowas laid off from Vern's shortly after telling reporters the cow inquestion was not a downer -- contrary to Secretary Veneman's statementsat the time."If Doc Thompson made a mistake, he's the kind of person who would stepup and admit to it," he said.That is the reason the USDA has not allowed him to talk to the press --because he would be honest and tell the truth -- Louthan contended. "Ifhe's the same Rodney I've always known, he's going to admit to it andsay 'Yeah, I forged the paperwork,'" he said.Thompson did not respond to e-mails sent by UPI two weeks ago, andattempts to reach him by phone last week at Vern's were unsuccessful.Although plant management said

Thompson was on the job last Friday, ameat inspector, who later was identified as Donald West, answered thephone line reserved for USDA officials at the plant and told UPI thatThompson had left for the day. West declined to identify himself orcomment on the case and abruptly ended the conversation.Louthan said West previously had told him Thompson was given a promotionand bumped up three pay grades in an effort to keep him silent.UPI has been unable to verify any of Louthan's allegations, in partbecause the USDA has refused to give out any information on Thompson. Infact, agency officials will not even verify if Thompson is still a USDAemployee, saying they cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.Asked about the promotion and pay-raise allegations, USDA spokeswomanAlisa Harrison said, "I haven't heard of that at all ...I'm sure that'spart of what the (Inspector General) is taking a look at."Asked whether USDA

officials pressured Thompson to alter documents,Harrison replied: "I cannot fathom that would happen ... I would assureyou that's not something Secretary Veneman would do."Harrison declined to comment on the actions that would be taken if theOIG investigation found records had been forged. "I'm not going tospeculate or answer any hypothetical questions," she said. "It'simportant to let the investigation proceed."Thompson may soon have to give his account of the mad cow case whetherUSDA officials want him to or not. The House Government Reform Committeehas opened its own investigation into the matter and requested in a Feb.17 letter to Veneman that she "make available for interviews with ourstaff the USDA officials who are familiar with the operations atVern's," which presumably would include Thompson.Harrison said the agency would comply with the committee's request andmake Thompson available."We intend to

fully cooperate with information requests made by thecommittee," she said.A source close to the committee's investigation who requested they notbe identified, told UPI: "There haven't been any new interviews to date,but the investigation is definitely still ongoing and we're stillinterested in talking to people."The source added that Thompson is "certainly an interesting part of theinvestigation."--Steve Mitchell is UPI's Medical Correspondent. E-mail sciencemailCopyright © 2001-2004 United Press Internationalhttp://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040304-044629-6003r

 

 

 

 

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