Cosmetic surgery beats 'mad cow' ban

Silicone is being used to patch up ears of illegally exported cattle

Cattle are being illegally exported by Northern Irish smugglers who use silicone implants in a bid to avoid the "mad cow" ban, new evidence has revealed.

The European Union imposed a worldwide embargo on British beef in 1996 after the UK Government revealed possible links between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (CJD) - a fatal brain-wasting condition in humans.

Since then, authorities in the Irish Republic have impounded 1,441 cattle from Northern Ireland, most seized on border roads by police and customs patrols.

But now, a meat plant in the Republic has uncovered signs of cosmetic surgery on the ears of livestock presented for slaughter.

Holes left by the removal of ear tags - used to reveal the origin of the cattle - had been filled with silicone. Smugglers also resorted to plaster fillers and Plasticine to cover up the evidence.

A spokesman at the Irish Department of Agriculture, which polices potentially lucrative smuggling rackets, said: "It now looks as though we will have to study cosmetic surgery methods to stay on top of the job."

Ban may be lifted

The beef ban will soon be lifted for some farmers after EU vets and ministers voted in March 1998 to allow exports to resume from Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has a unique database which has traced the movement of cattle in the province over the last decade.

The vets decided it was safe to export Northern Irish beef as herds there had been free of BSE for more than eight years. Exports are set to resume in weeks.