(NAFB) – The United States Cattlemen’s Association joined the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and R-CALF USA in calling for a halt to beef imports from Brazil.

A USCA letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says recent reports of human remains containing BSE, or Mad Cow Disease, follow closely on the heels of an atypical case of BSE found in an older cow in Brazil.

“This is especially troubling given Brazil’s history of corruption and dishonest trading practices in the global marketplace,” the letter says. “USCA is concerned more cases are waiting to get discovered.”

USCA Trade Committee Chair Larry Kendig says the same concerns which prompted his group to call for a halt to Brazilian beef imports in 2017 remain today. “Put simply, Brazil is a bad actor in the global marketplace,” Kendig says. “We are gambling with the health of the domestic herd every time we accept a shipment of beef from Brazil.”