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Britain bans shipping of livestock |
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February 24, 2001
LONDON (AP) — Agriculture authorities slapped a one-week ban on livestock movements Friday to combat an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has shut British meat out of export markets. Earlier, officials said they had identified three more sites of infection, and believed the epidemic may have started in northern England. Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said that all shipments of livestock within Britain would be banned for seven days. ``The purpose is to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease while we are trying to extinguish it,'' Brown told reporters. The travel ban applies to cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, but does not affect horses, poultry, milk or animal feed. Fox, deer and hare hunting are also included in the ban to prevent the spread of disease. Major supermarket chains warned Friday that meat availability could soon be affected by the outbreak, saying current supplies will only last a few days. Several chains said they were planning for increases in demand for poultry and fish. The disease was confirmed at three new sites Friday: one in Essex county, northeast of London, where the disease was first detected on Tuesday, and two in the north. Three other sites were identified earlier in the week. Agriculture officials said a farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall in northern England had supplied pigs to the slaughterhouse in Essex county where the scare began. ``The disease appears to have been present on the farm for some time. It is feasible that this may be the source of the infection at the abattoir in Essex,'' the ministry said. The farm's owner, Bobby Waugh, issued a statement Friday saying his 500 pigs passed an annual Agriculture Ministry checkup on Jan. 25, He said there was no sign of disease in the herd in the last few weeks. ``I always keep a careful eye on all my pigs because, naturally, I want healthy pigs,'' Waugh said. ``How could I report something I didn't see?'' Chief Veterinary Office Jim Scudamore said another outbreak was confirmed at a farm 4 miles from Heddon-on-the-Wall. A five-mile exclusion zone was imposed around the farms, as has been done at four other sites where the disease has been confirmed. Britain voluntarily suspended exports of live animals, meat and dairy products on Wednesday, and the United States, Russia and the European Union have also imposed import restrictions. Hungary announced a similar ban Friday. Foot-and-mouth disease affects cloven-footed animals, including sheep, goats and cows. Causing blisters on the mouth and feet, fever and loss of appetite, it is not usually fatal in itself, but animals are slaughtered to stop its spread. Transmission to humans is extremely rare, but possible if a person is in close contact with an infected animal, the Food Standards Agency said. The Ministry of Defense joined efforts to help contain the disease Friday, suspending all nonessential military training to minimize movement of its personnel and vehicles. Wildlife officials urged people to stay away from the from the country's 2,300 nature reserves. A horse track inside one of the exclusion zones was forced to cancel its Monday races. |