EU Commission imposes embargo on Irish exports
The European Union has imposed an embargo on all livestock and related products from Ireland after today's foot-and-mouth outbreak in Co Louth.
In a statement this evening the EU said the ban will remain in place until the 4th April.
The restrictions are identical to those approved yesterday in relation to the Netherlands and those already in place in France, the spokeswoman said.
The Minister for Agriculture Mr Walsh has said the Government will embark on a diplomatic initiative to ask the EU to continue to accept animal exports from outside the Louth exclusion zone.
The embargo applies to all cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and other potential carriers, the European Commission said in a statement.
Equally "it will be prohibited to dispatch products, notably meat and fresh meat products, milk and milk products, hides and skins and other animal products from the county of Louth to other parts of Ireland, to the other member states and to third countries," a commission statement said.
The situation will be reviewed at a meeting of the EU Standing Veterinary Committee on March 27.
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Co Louth makes the State the fourth EU country, after France and the Netherlands, to be hit by the devastating disease which broke out just over a month ago in Britain.
Additional reporting AFP
