The Government has banned the importation of French cattle, sheep, pigs and goats as well as animal products after the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed there yesterday, marking the spread of the virus to the European mainland.
The move came as the US suspended all imports of animals and animal products from the EU. Last night, the Government was seeking an exclusion from the ban, stressing that no cases of the disease had so far occurred in the State. The French Minister of Agriculture, Mr Jean Glavany, said that he feared further outbreaks of foot-and-mouth after tests confirmed the disease in a herd of cows on a farm in Mayenne in north-western France. The cattle were being raised close to a farm which had imported 1,000 sheep from Britain.
There is a suspicion that the disease may have appeared in France some time ago and that the government might have waited until after the municipal elections at the weekend before admitting it.
On March 4th the French agriculture ministry announced that sheep imported from Britain - including those in Baroche-Goudouin, where the outbreak occurred - had tested positive for foot-and-mouth.
The announcement of the positive tests was made late in the evening after the main French newspapers had gone to print. The following morning the Ministry quickly backtracked, explaining that the sheep had tested positive for antibodies, which meant that they had been "in contact with the disease" but did not necessarily have it.
Whether the sheep had contracted foot-and-mouth "could not be confirmed because the animals were slaughtered and burned after the tests were taken", Mr Glavany said at the time.
A suspect case in Augher, Co Tyrone, has been found to be negative, based on preliminary tests. This brought some relief to the Government and the Northern Ireland authorities as the number of cases in the UK rose above 200 yesterday.