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Britain on F&M alert
04/08/2007 18:03 - (SA)
London - Britain moved rapidly to contain
an outbreak of foot and mouth, a highly infectious disease that
devastated farming six years ago, by isolating a farm west of
London on Saturday.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke off his holiday to return
to London and chair an emergency meeting of senior ministers.
The European Commission said it had banned all live animal
exports from the United Kingdom, as well as meat and dairy
products from the infected area. Further restrictions could be
brought in after EU veterinary experts meet on Wednesday.
Keen to avoid a repeat of the government's much-criticised
response to the 2001 crisis, Brown said officials would work
"day and night" to stem the outbreak discovered in a small herd
of cattle on Friday.
Authorities set up a 3-km radius exclusion zone
and a wider 10km surveillance area around the infected farm in
the county of Surrey. Within that area is a laboratory used by
the Institute for Animal Health to test foot-and-mouth samples.
Movement of all pigs, sheep and cattle throughout the
country was banned as a further precautionary measure. Costs
Britain's agriculture ministry said it had voluntarily
suspended all exports of animal carcasses, meat and milk to the
European Union.
Depending on how long the bans remain in place, the impact
on British agriculture could be profound. Industry experts say
British exports of livestock and meat are worth about £15m a week.
In the 2001 outbreak more than six million animals were
slaughtered, many of them burned on huge bonfires.
The cost to agriculture and rural tourism of that weeks-long
outbreak was estimated at £8.5bn and
Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, was strongly criticised for his
government's handling of the problem.
Experts said Britain was better placed now to deal with the
outbreak than it had been in 2001.
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