The North's veterinary service was last night continuing to investigate a "hot" suspect case of foot-and-mouth disease in Co Tyrone.
One sheep in a consignment of 40 which had arrived at the Dungannon Meats factory from a farm in Augher, Co Tyrone, was found to have signs of the disease during a routine inspection by vets yesterday afternoon. The North's agriculture industry was last night bracing itself for results of laboratory tests due to be returned from Pirbright, England, today which could confirm a second outbreak of the disease in the North. The North's Minister for Agriculture, Mrs Brid Rodgers, said the abattoir and the farm had been placed under restrictions and an 8 km surveillance zone had been established around both. "I am extremely disappointed that nearly two weeks after the positive case in south Armagh we could now be faced with a further outbreak of the disease in Northern Ireland." She said the sheep was displaying symptoms of the disease, including lesions in the mouth and on all four feet. The remainder of the consignment had shown no signs of the disease although all animals at the slaughterhouse had been destroyed and the plant closed. "We will not be sure until the samples have been tested and until then the steps being taken are purely precautionary. "There is no need for panic at this stage but clearly this emphasises the need for further vigilance on farms and for compliance with the Department of Agriculture's advice on animal movements and the movements of people." Mrs Rodgers stressed yesterday she had publicised the suspect case less than two hours after receiving the report and was not yet in possession of all details. Department vets were continuing to investigate the origins of the Co Tyrone consignment to find out if it was linked to the outbreak in Meigh, south Armagh, or to sheep sold at a recent market in south Derry. "I cannot be categorical or absolute about any information because there are people out there who have refused to cooperate in what is an extremely dangerous situation for the Northern Ireland industry. "I hope if there is anybody anywhere, either in the farming community or in any of those neighbourhoods who has any scrap of information, that they will let either me, my officials or the police know about it," Mrs Rodgers said. Mr John Gilliland of the Ulster Farmers' Union yesterday described the case as very disturbing. "We have gone very nearly two weeks now since Meigh, and maybe we were getting a little confident, maybe a little bit complacent. This proves there is no room for complacency. "We appeal to all farmers to redouble their efforts. No precaution is enough to keep this disease at bay." Meanwhile, a Sinn Fein representative has called on the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, to use his position as founder of the Free Presbyterian Church to cancel an event to be held by the church in the Odyssey arena this weekend. "The current situation demands responsible action and given the need to minimise the potential cross-contamination of people from rural and agricultural backgrounds the only logical thing for Mr Paisley to do is cancel this event," said Mr Gerry McHugh.