Capture Theory, a Follow-Up

Some days ago, I had a post on Capture Theory. One of hilzoy’s readers at Obsidian Wings notices a problems with the AP story on which my post was based, and hilzoy follows up:

in short: the government argues that since tests for BSE only pick up the disease a few months before an animal becomes symptomatic, a point which is usually well after most US cattle are slaughtered, testing would miss most infected animals. It would, essentially, be a marketing gimmick designed to produce unfounded confidence…

There’s a lot more at Obsidian Wings, and well worth a read. If the administration’s position is accurate, there may well be more to this story than capture theory. Is it accurate?