France bans animal exports

Sheep from Britain were suspected of being infected

France has banned the export of all animals at risk from foot-and-mouth disease for 15 days in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease.

Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany also said that movement of cattle, sheep and pigs would be banned, except for journeys to slaughterhouses.

Glavany: Imported sheep believed to be infected

And government officials are reported as saying that horse-racing events are likely to be banned.

No cases of the disease have yet been confirmed in France, but officials say foot-and-mouth antibodies were found on nine farms, which were then put in quarantine.

Mr Glavany told French radio that sheep imported from Britain had been suspected of being infected before they were slaughtered.

The suspicions about foot-and-mouth disease could not be confirmed because the animals were slaughtered and burned after the tests were taken

Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany

But he stressed that the disease had not been confirmed, and the French move did not mean there had been an outbreak there.

Over the weekend farms in Belgium, France and Denmark were quarantined after suspected cases of foot-and-mouth were discovered.

But tests for the disease on one farm, in the French south-eastern Loire department, proved negative and the quarantine there has been lifted.

And a pig farm at Diksmuide in Belgium was cleared following negative tests on pigs imported from Britain.

Foot-and-mouth has brought havoc to the British farming industry with about 70 cases confirmed since the outbreak began two weeks ago.

Last week, France announced that it was destroying 50,000 sheep imported from Britain as a precautionary measure.

Danish scare

In Denmark, several farms were placed under quarantine as a precautionary measure on Sunday.

Euro reaction

France: ban on British and Irish products, export ban

Germany: culling British animals

Belgium: started cull

Spain: destroyed British pigs, disinfecting vehicles, seizing and destroying meat products

Portugal: disinfecting British visitors

Cyprus: disinfecting British visitors

Russia: banned all British meat products

The Danish Food Administration also toughened hygiene regulations, temporarily banning all private food imports and limiting visits to cattle farms.

But the UK remains the only country in western Europe to have confirmed cases of the infection.

More than 53,000 animals have been slaughtered and incinerated in the UK, and government vets are trying to trace thousands more they think may have been infected.

The European Union has said there is no need to proceed to a mass vaccination programme.

European measures

Countries around Europe have, however, been implementing more and more emergency measures.

French border police are keeping tight controls on truck movements

Ireland has deployed troops along the border with Northern Ireland, where one case has been confirmed, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

Germany has ordered the immediate destruction of all sheep and goats imported from the UK in the last four weeks.

Spain has banned all livestock fairs and incinerated hundreds of British pigs.

It has also issued guidelines on cleaning and disinfecting of vehicles and the confiscation and destruction of food and waste from the UK.

Russia has imposed a blanket ban on all meat products from Britain.

The Austrian Government has advised its nationals to avoid travelling to Britain "unless absolutely necessary".