NI countryside at standstill

Meigh farmer said he was helping vets following discovery

Tight restrictions are bringing the Northern Ireland countryside to a standstill as vets attempt to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth.

The province's agriculture minister Brid Rodgers is to brief the Northern Ireland Executive on the crisis at an emergency meeting on Friday.

The executive is to establish an inter-departmental committee, to lead the fight against the disease, following the confirmation that the outbreak, which grips Britain had spread to Northern Ireland.

It is understood the committee will meet daily to co-ordinate efforts to curb the risk of infection spreading.

Sheep slaughtered

On Thursday Northern Ireland farmers' worst fears were realised when Mrs Rodgers confirmed that 21 sheep found on a farm at Meigh in south Armagh were infected.

The sheep were slaughtered on Wednesday night and their carcasses burned in a field.

Cross-border checks led to four-hour tailbacks

More than 300 sheep were imported into the province from a market near Carlisle, which has been linked to outbreaks of the disease in other parts of Britain.

The department was told the sheep would be slaughtered immediately for the meat industry, but this did not happen.

The authorities are still searching for the remainder of the consignment, amid fears they may be dispersed on both sides of the border.

Man arrested

Within hours of the confirmed outbreak, a man was arrested by the police at Banbridge in County Down on the orders of government officials investigating the foot-and-mouth crisis.

He was later released.

A 10-kilometre surveillance zone and an inner three-kilometre protection zone has been placed around the Meigh farm.

Brid Rodgers defended department's handling

Mrs Rodgers said on Thursday that a pig herd at a neighbouring farm would be slaughtered, and other farmers in the zone are waiting anxiously, while daily tests are carried out.

Meanwhile, milk producers say the crisis is already costing them millions of pounds, as milk and other dairy products, which can not now be exported, are thrown away.

There was concern that the department had not acted quickly enough to put restrictions in place following the announcement.

But Mrs Rodgers defended the department's handling of the situation.

"There is a certain amount the department can do, and is doing flat out," she said.

"But we cannot do it on our own. It is an emergency and we need the co-operation of the public. We cannot police everyone in Northern Ireland."

Farmer's statement

Stromont agriculture committee chairman, Ian Paisley, said it was vital to establish how the disease got into the province.

I explained fully the circumstances under which the sheep came to be present on and subsequently left my farm

Farmer Maurice Collins

"The circumstances surrounding the case raises a number of important questions about the flouting of regulations which must now be subject to a inquiry," the Democratic Unionist Party leader said.

Meanwhile, in a statement the farmer, on whose south Armagh farm some of the sheep were found, said he was co-operating fully with government officials.

Through his solicitors, Maurice Collins also denied ever "owning, transporting, buying or selling" the infected sheep.

The statement said he "explained fully the circumstances under which the sheep came to be present on and subsequently left his farm".

Restrictions

New restrictions placed on the movement of animals include:

A ban on the movement of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer

A ban on farm-to-farm collection of animals for slaughter

A ban on livestock auctions and markets

A ban on the movement of horses (which can carry the disease) for at least three weeks

Extension of the temporary closure of agricultural colleges.

Mrs Rodgers said she would be reviewing all measures on a daily basis.

On Wednesday night she said samples from a sheep on a farm in Castlederg, County Tyrone, were to be sent for analysis on suspicion of having the disease.

Meanwhile, sporting and outdoor activity bodies have cancel events and banned the public from many sites.

Most rugby, and Irish league football and Gaelic Athletic Association fixtures have been postponed.

Sports minister Michael McGimpsey banned fishing on waters under his department's control and urged anglers to stay away from private rivers and lakes.

Disruption

The National Trust and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have closed their properties and some rural schools are closed.

Meanwhile, the police in the Republic of Ireland have confirmed that about 400 extra officers are to assist with border checks and disease control measures.

About 1,300 sheep, imported from Devon, have been destroyed in County Wexford as a precaution.

The current outbreak of foot-and-mouth was first discovered at a farm in Essex last Monday.

Farmers had been hoping Northern Ireland could gain an all-clear status, separate from the rest of the UK, so that the province's European exports could resume.

The Department of Agriculture can be contacted on its helpline numbers on 02890524279 or 02890 544590.