The Department of Agriculture is investigating the circumstances in which a consignment of 248 lambs arrived for slaughter at the Kepak plant in Roscommon on Tuesday of last week. It was two days before the ban on the importation of livestock from Northern Ireland came in to effect. Tonight serious question marks have arisen about these lambs. Kepak, in its statement says that they were delivered to the plant in the name of a sheep farmer from the Roscommon region who is known to them. Since then, following an investigation by the Department of Agriculture, it has come to light that the lambs were not property of the farmer in whose name they were supplied. An investigation is now underway to establish where they came from. As a result of this development, 12 employees who work on the sheep killing line, and who may have got into contact with the lambs are at the centre of a separate investigation. The movement of all livestock from farms which they own has been prohibited.
The North's Minister for Agriculture, Brid Rodgers, has said that her Department believes it is now looking at an outbreak of foot and mouth disease on a South Armagh farm. The North's Chief Veterinary Officer said that the sheep had come from a batch of over 290 brought into Northern Ireland; it was his belief that the vast majority of these had gone to the Republic. The Minister also said that her officials were viewing with concern the examination of a sheep at the veterinary laboratory in Omagh. This sheep is from a farm in Castlederg; samples are being sent to a laboratory in England for further testing.
The farm where the suspected outbreak of foot and mouth disease has occurred is less than two miles from County Louth, not far from the main cross-border road between Belfast and Dublin. Around 400 extra Gardaí have been drafted in to help with border checkpoints and a five mile exclusion zone has been set up around the affected property at Meigh. Department of Agriculture staff moved in at first light to seal off the farm. They are slaughtering, then burning, 21 sheep. Samples are being sent to a laboratory in England for analysis and the results are expected by early next week.
At a news conference at Stormont, officials confirmed that the suspect sheep were part of a batch of 291 which had been transported to South Armagh ten days ago from a market near Carlisle, and intended for immediate slaughter. Twenty-one were kept at this farm, the remainder were moved to the Republic. The North's Agriculture Minister has announced a series of preventative measures.
Killing of cattle at the AIBP plant in Nenagh has been temporarily halted after tests were ordered on an animal with a high temperature. It is understood that the animal did not come from the UK, and confirmation of test results are not expected for several days. The measure is precautionary.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that farmers were being asked not to move cattle within the country, except from farm to factory, from midnight tonight. In the Dáil earlier, the Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, said that there was no reason to suspect that there were any cases in the Republic at present. He described the discovery of the case near the border as "extremely worrying and disquieting." Mr Walsh has introduced further controls on the movement of animals and called for the cancellation of more sporting events.
The IFA president, Tom Parlon, tonight called for the full rigours of the law to be used against any livestock dealers, farmers, food manufacturers or individuals found in breach of foot and mouth regulations, or who have breached any regulations that would put the national herd at risk. The President of ICMSA, Pat O'Rourke, has called for the imposition of an immediate five-day ban on any animal movements within Ireland.
In Wexford, an operation is getting underway to destroy 1,300 sheep which were imported from Devon in southern England earlier this month. The sheep are being slaughtered as a precautionary measure. Department vets have been testing the animals on the Wexford farm for the past week and as yet no animals have shown any signs of the disease. A spokesman for Wexford IFA said that the farm is being closely monitored and the Department has confirmed that there are no signs of foot and mouth disease in any of the animals. It is understood that all the stock on the farm will be slaughtered on Friday and an IFA spokesperson said that they believe this course of action is necessary to ensure the control of the disease.
The number of cases in Britain has reached 27, after nine more cases were confirmed this afternoon. Two are at farms in Wales, and in Hereford, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Devon, Warwickshire and Essex. Jim Scudamore said that just over 100 farms were now under restrictions, although 50 of them were believed to be clear of the disease. He said that 11,000 animals had been or were due to be slaughtered in the effort to contain the outbreak.
Meanwhile, fears that the disease may have spread beyond Britain to the Continent have increased. The German authorities have sealed off a farm near Dusseldorf where blood tests show that five sheep, imported from Britain, have foot and mouth antibodies. Experts say that the evidence suggests the sheep had been in contact with infected animals but do not prove they had contracted the disease. Further tests are being carried out. Britain exported 3,500 sheep to Germany alone in the past three weeks.
Since Monday the Netherlands and Germany have slaughtered thousands of animals imported from Britain, in an effort to prevent foot and mouth disease from spreading to mainland Europe. The EU's Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne, is monitoring developments in all the member states.
The British government has announced further steps to stem the spread of the disease. At an emergency meeting in Downing Street last night, the ban on the movement of livestock was extended for two more weeks from Friday. The first case of the disease outside England was confirmed at an abattoir in North Wales yesterday. In Scotland, the only farm North of the border with a suspected case of the disease has been given the all-clear.
A ban on all horse and greyhound racing meetings has come into effect in Ireland, as part of a series of measures to try to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. The ban, which was imposed by the Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, came into effect at midnight. A national emergency committee, set up to deal with the threat, will meet for the first time today. The Taoiseach has told the Dáil that the zoos in Dublin and in Cork's Fota Park have been asked to close due to concerns about the spread of the disease.
Fine Gael has cancelled its national Ard Fheis, planned for this weekend, because of the foot and mouth scare. Instead the party will hold what it calls a restricted conference which will be attended by activists living in the Dublin area. This will begin at 5pm on Saturday and the new party leader, Michael Noonan will deliver his address to about 600 invited delegates at 8pm.
