The compulsory cull of healthy animals on the Cooley peninsula is to be extended, the Department of Agriculture said today.
So far, 23,727 sheep and 600 cattle have been slaughtered on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth.
Following an evaluation of test results from sheep in the area that showed the presence of foot-and-mouth antibodies, the ministry said the cull would be extended to the whole of the Cooley region.
The sheep involved in the tests were on an "out-farm" to the main farm in the Proleek area where the outbreak was confirmed on March 22nd, which belongs to Mr Michael Rice.
The extended cull is expected to involved the slaughter of about 15,000 more sheep and some cattle.
To date the Department has been concentrating on culling sheep in an extended corridor on the peninsula, to leave a sterile area or "firebreak" between the Proleek case and the Border as well as along the Louth border with Northern Ireland.
Army Rangers marksmen had been operating in the Cooley mountains to shoot wild goats that roam the hills and can carry foot-and-mouth. The animals were pinpointed by an Irish Air Corps helicopter, acting as a spotter plane.
Additional reporting from AFP