NI foot-and-mouth fears

There has been no foot-and-mouth in NI since 1941

A suspected foot-and-mouth outbreak is being investigated in Northern Ireland, the province's agriculture minister has said.

Brid Rodgers made the announcement after meeting farmers on Wednesday morning to discuss the possibility of the province gaining an all-clear status so that European exports could resume.

During widespread testing at Northern Ireland farms, since the first outbreak at a farm in England last week, the province had seemed free of the livestock disease.

However, farmers' hopes that Department of Agriculture restrictions could prevent the disease spreading to Northern Ireland, may be premature.

Humans are not affected by foot-and-mouth although they can carry it, but the highly contagious virus, which affects pigs, sheep and cattle, is one of the most feared by farmers.