The transport of eight Irish horses to Sweden via Britain has upset farmers, who fear the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
The horses arrived yesterday in a sealed trailer aboard a ferry to Trelleborg, a city on the southern tip of Sweden, Mr Mats Denninger, a spokesman for the Federation of Swedish Farmers, said.
The Swedish Board of Agriculture said no rules had been broken because horses are not cloven-hoofed animals and therefore not bound by restrictions in place to block the highly contagious disease.
Sweden has imposed a national ban on transportation of horses from countries where the disease is prevalent, but that does not include Ireland, agriculture board spokesman Ms Anna Olsson said.
"Foot-and-mouth has not broken out in Ireland. And on top of that, the horses arrived in a sealed vehicle and they never set foot on British soil," Olsson said.
Mr Denninger said more caution was warranted.
"Horses often come from farms with mixed animal stocks. And the transport rolled through an area where the disease is not under control," he said. "The reaction among the farmers are that this transport undermines the credibility of the transport restrictions."
AP