Klein's response to BSE was highly criticized when he made a public statement "I guess any self-respecting rancher would have shot, shovelled and shut up, but he didn't do that," referring to the farmer in northern Alberta whose animal was found to have the disease when it was taken to a slaughterhouse. Exports of Canadian beef cattle had already been stopped at the U.S. border, with other countries already following suit. Japan had been a key stumbling block to getting the U.S. border reopened because it made clear it might rethink taking U.S. beef if it had Canadian beef mixed in with it. The United States eventually lifted restrictions on Canadian beef imports in stages, starting with cattle under 30 months of age in late-2003, then meat products in 2004, and later greater trade reductions in July 2005. Japan was slower to reopen trade with Canada, with the final BSE related restrictions on Canada beef lifted in 2019.