The Government might have to reintroduce the "ring of steel" along the Border which helped prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic, now that English cattle could be imported into Northern Ireland, a farm leader said yesterday.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Producers' Association, Mr Pat O'Rourke, said he was "gravely unhappy" with the EU Standing Veterinary Committee decision to allow British cattle be exported to Northern Ireland again.
He said he would be seeking assurances from the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, that controls would be reintroduced because of what he would regard as a fresh danger to this country from Britain.
The EU lifted the ban on British meat exports to the rest of the Union with the official ending of foot-and-mouth there, but while a ban remains on its export of live cattle to any part of the Union, it has allowed cattle to be exported into the North.
"I have no doubt that one of the key reasons why we only experienced one outbreak of foot-and-mouth in the Republic was that Bríd Rodgers banned the import of live animals from Britain, and I applaud her for that," Mr O'Rourke said.
"They still do not know what exactly caused the disease in Britain. We cannot be sure at this stage what is likely to happen." He said "the ring of steel" on the Border was gone but the Government should consider reintroducing it as the import of cattle from Britain did pose a threat.