Editorial.

The author highlights that the strict monitoring of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has reduced the cost of the disease. The author claims that BSE is the biggest animal health disaster of the late 20th century and that the impact of the disease on Great Britain is impossible to quantify. The author mentions the opposition met by a European Union (EU) Commission proposal to allow feeding of processed animal proteins. A discussion of the articles published within the issue is included.