A fatal, degenerative neurological disease of sheep and goats. The similarity of scrapie to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (mad cow) disease in cattle, with the possibility of subsequent transmission to humans, has caused the Food and Drug Administration to propose regulations to prohibit using sheep and goat by-products as a component in cattle feeds. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also conducts a "voluntary scrapie flock certification program" to certify scrapie-free herds.