UK/BELGIUM: EU bans British meat, dairy, livestock exports following new outbreak of foot and mouth disease
- 00:00:06
- ITN Source
UK/BELGIUM: EU bans British meat, dairy, livestock exports following new outbreak of foot and mouth disease
The European Union banned all British exports of fresh meat, live animals and milk products following a confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the European Commission said on Wednesday (September 12). The decision came after news broke that foot and mouth disease had struck a new cattle farm in southern England. The agriculture ministry said a surveillance zone of more than 10 km (6 miles) had been placed around the farm in Egham, Surrey, about 30 miles (50 km) from the scene of the last confirmed outbreak in August. Veterinary authorities ordered an immediate cull of the herd in question. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the government was doing all it could to prevent the spread of the disease. "I don't think it's possible to say at this stage what has finally caused this particular outbreak, but I do say that at all times we'll be absolutely vigilant both in looking for root cause and controlling and eradicating this disease," Brown said. EU veterinary experts had agreed on Tuesday (September 11) to declare Britain free of foot and mouth from Nov. 9 and lift an export ban on meat, dairy products and live animals -- imposed after the disease was found on two farms in Surrey in July and August. But on Wednesday, they reversed this decision following a new outbreak in the same zone, in southern England. ''As usual when there is a new case of foot and mouth disease, we have taken the standard decision according to our rules which is to declare an export ban from the, from Great Britain of animals and their products, provisionally until October the 15th, but that's something we will keep under constant review depending up on the disease situation,'' EU spokesman for Agriculture and Rural Affairs Michael Mann told Reuters. Britain suffered a crippling outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001 when more than six million animals had to be culled. The outbreak hit agriculture and tourism hard, costing the economy an estimated 8.5 billion pounds ($17 billion). Foot and mouth is a highly contagious disease which spreads easily on the wind. It can cause animals to foam at the mouth and collapse, and has an incubation period of up to three weeks.
ITN Source | September 13, 2007
