EU maintains ban on British meat, livestock
Pastor Dale Morgan
EU maintains ban on British meat, livestock*
BRUSSELS (AFP) - - European Union veterinary experts decided Wednesday
to extend the export ban on British meat and livestock until at least
August 25 because of a foot and mouth outbreak in England.
"The experts have agreed with Britain's view that Great Britain should
continue to be treated as a high-risk zone in view of the uncertainty of
the situation," said Philip Tod, spokesman for EU Health Commissioner
Markos Kyprianou.
"The situation has not stabilised," he told AFP, adding that the ban
would remain in place until August 25.
Another meeting of the veterinary expert group -- formally the EU
standing committee on the food chain and animal health -- would be held
to consider the possibility of easing the ban on August 23, Tod added.
"The UK welcomes the decision," a British official said.
"This is a precautionary approach until we find out exactly what is
happening... these measures should help to prevent any spread" of the
disease.
A European Commission statement said EU member states were unanimous in
their decision and it "welcomed the effort being made to rapidly
identify the source, and encouraged the UK to continue its
investigations on this matter".
"It was the right decision" in the circumstances, said Greek delegate
Spiros Dounakas, a sentiment echoed by others leaving the Brussels meeting.
The EU formally imposed the ban on Monday after the highly contagious
disease had been confirmed in cattle at two farms in southern England on
Friday.
All of Britain, except Northern Ireland, has been designated a
"high-risk" zone, meaning meat, livestock and dairy products from
Britain are banned in the other EU member states.
Tod, leaving the meeting of veterinary experts from the 27 EU nations in
Brussels, said that some technical issues were raised.
Notably the meeting agreed that meat from Northern Ireland to the
European mainland should be allowed to transit through the British
mainland, as much of it normally does.
While the decision was led by Britain and unanimously agreed at the
experts' meeting the announcement did not please everyone.
"This outbreak has been a body blow for British farming and it is
imperative we get cattle moving as soon as it is safe to do so," said
Neil Parish, chairman of the European parliament's agriculture committee.
"The European Union was right to take a precautious approach to this
outbreak in the beginning, but farmers will question the decision of the
EU standing committee to put off meeting again for another fortnight."
British cattle farmers had been hoping that the high-risk zone would be
'regionalised' leaving other areas free to export meat.
The Commission statement said it would keep the situation under review,
along with British authorities, "and will work together to achieve
regionalisation as soon as the evidence is available to justify it".
The EU decision came shortly after Britain eased restrictions on animal
movements throughout the country, to allow livestock to be transported
for slaughter under strict conditions.
British farmers fear a repeat of the costly 2001 foot and mouth
outbreak, which also evoked an EU export ban and cost the national
economy about eight billion pounds while devastating the agriculture sector.
The probe into the source of the latest outbreak has focused on whether
a laboratory employee at a research centre at Pirbright, southwest of
London was to blame for leaking the virus to nearby farms.