Paris - A large number of zoo animals in France and elsewhere in Europe have been infected by mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, according to a study by French neurobiologist, Noelle Bons.

In 1996, Bons reported the BSE-related deaths of a rhesus monkey and two lemurs, all fed with tainted animal feed. In the same year, the British manufacturer of the feed stopped using beef meal as a nutritional supplement.

- Sapa-AFP