1.   Irish farmers demanded a halt to imports of British cattle.

2.   Both the Netherlands and Portugal had imported herds of British cattle before the latest crisis.

3.   BSE, a brain disease recently found among British cattle, has been linked to a rare, but fatal, brain disease in humans.

4.   BSE was transmitted to British cattle because they were fed ground-up remains of dead cows.

5.   Discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in British cattle prompted a European Union ban of British beef last year.

6.   In fact, the French agriculture minister, Jean Glavany, has explicitly blamed imports of British cattle feed for the current problem.

7.   It will discuss whether to it is necessary to order a mass destruction of British cattle, a spokesman said.

8.   It will discuss whether to order a mass destruction of British cattle, a move would force dairy prices higher.

9.   Research already indicates how British cattle were afflicted with BSE.

10.   That finding resulted in the destruction of thousands of British cattle and bans on British beef costing the industry and government millions of dollars.