Livestock ban to be relaxed

Special licences could see livestock vehicles back on the roads

The government is to ease the ban on the movement of livestock to help reduce economic hardships to farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The news comes as farmers in Wales await the results of tests on three further suspected cases of the disease.

The burning of carcasses continues

So far, three cases have been confirmed - in an abattoir in Gaerwen on Angelsey, and at farms in Painscastle near Hay-on-Wye and Kington in Powys.

Ministers are to give details of a scheme which will allow the limited transportation of livestock from farms to abattoirs from Monday.

Farmers are to be granted licences to help ensure the transportation of animals is carried out safely.

At least some British meat is going back into the food chain and that's enormously important

Tony Blair

Speaking at a business breakfast in Cardiff, Tony Blair said the move would bring a "considerable amount of respite" for farmers.

He said the ban on animal movements had prevented the current outbreak from spreading in the same way as the disease did in 1967.

And he insisted that the licensed slaughter scheme, details of which will be announced on Friday, was "enormously important".

"Obviously there will be a limit to what we can do because they will have to be licensed under very strict conditions but it will mean that at least some British meat is going back into the food chain and that's enormously important."

Vehicles from Britain disinfected as a precaution

The total number of cases around the UK now stands at 37 including new cases confirmed on Friday in Kirkcudbright in Scotland, Bromham in Wiltshire, Penrith in Cumbria, Dinnington in Northumberland and Longtown near Carlisle.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said that more meat will have to be imported from abroad because of the meat shortages caused by the ban on livestock movement.

The agency has also ordered greater BSE-related checks on meat imports after remnants of spinal cord were found in two consignments of beef from Germany and The Netherlands.

Depleted supplies of meat around the UK have prompted fears that prices could rise.

Customers are buying much more than they usually have, and we are running out

Cardiff butcher John Morgan

Butchers throughout Wales have reported that stocks of red meat are running low.

Some supermarkets have already run out of pork and lamb, and some have said they will buy in meat from abroad to replenish stocks.

John Morgan, whose family has had a butcher's stall in Cardiff market since 1861, has said that people are buying more than they need.

"Customers are buying much more than they usually have, and we are running out," he said.

"Our problem is that we can't replace our stocks".

But as details of the relaxation of livestock movement is expected, police in Wales are still warning that they will prosecute those found moving livestock illegally after animals were found to have been moved in three separate locations on Thursday.

There had been fears that with the lambing season due to start, many Welsh farmers may be considering breaking the law.

Emergency measures

Livestock movement ban extended

Horse racing suspended

Ireland v Wales rugby postponed

National parks closed

Access to Scottish Mountains suspended

Reservoir sites in Wales closed to public

Marwell Zoo closed

All movements of animals have been banned since Friday 23 February under emergency legislation and police have said that anyone found livestock faces fines of up to £5,000.

Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore said five to six new cases were appearing each day.

But the government still believes that all the cases being discovered can be traced back to livestock movements before the standstill imposed last Friday.

British farmers have killed and burned an estimated 25,000 cattle, sheep and pigs, while France is planning to destroy at least double that number.

The process of burning more than 7,000 sheep carcasses is due to begin on Saturday at the abattoir in Gaerwen on Anglesey, which was the first confirmed case of the disease in Wales.

Daily broadcasts informing farmers of developments and offering guidance are to be broadcast from Friday on BBC Radio Cymru (0715GMT and 0805GMT) and Radio Wales (0620GMT).

Welsh Assembly emergency helplines : 029 20825572 029 20825578 029 20825586