French foot-and-mouth measures

France hoped its draconian measures would save it from the disease

Since foot-and-mouth first surfaced in the United Kingdom last month, France has imposed a series of ever more draconian measures to try to insulate itself from the highly contagious livestock disease.

The discovery of the first confirmed case in the region of Mayenne in western France, could have even more devastating effects than the epidemic in Britain. Farming is a massive industry in France and of crucial political importance.

"We have put into operation measures which some said were draconian, drastic, even excessive... Now we can see that we were right to do so. This justifies all the draconian measures we've been taking for the last two weeks," French Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany said.

6 March 2001:

After a meeting of the European Union's veterinary committee in Brussels, the following measures are adopted:

• A ban on the movement of all livestock across Europe, except where special authorisation is given
• A two-week ban on gatherings of livestock at markets and abattoirs
• An extension of the ban on the import of animals, animal products and some dairy products originating from the United Kingdom until 27 March
• The disinfection of the wheels of all vehicles arriving in the EU from the UK.

5 March:

Exclusion zones are set up around farms where cases of the foot-and-mouth are suspected, including the farm in the Mayenne region where a case of the disease has since been confirmed.

A 15-day ban on the movement of livestock all across France, including horses, is enforced.

3 March:

Because of strong suspicions of cases of foot-and-mouth in a herd of Belgian pigs, a ban on all affected animals from Belgium is announced.

2 March:

A ban on the import of all cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs from the Irish Republic is imposed.

The movement of cattle to markets or abattoirs is banned.

28 February:

Plan announced to slaughter and destroy 30,000 sheep that might have had contact with sheep imported from Britain.

27 February:

As the number of cases of foot-and-mouth in Britain rises, the French authorities decide to slaughter and destroy 10,000 sheep, as a preventative measure. The animals were all from a European community pool of livestock, and their exact origin could not be pinpointed.

21 February:

The French authorities quarantine animals imported from the UK in the last 30 days. A ban on imports of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs from Britain is put in place.