Foot and Mouth: Government introduces import ban of cattle, pigs and sheep from Germany to protect farmers

The measures were announced yesterday in an attempt to keep the disease out of the UK, where there are currently no known cases.

Tom Bradshaw, CEO of the National Farmers Union said the development was “very worrying”.

He welcomed the decision to suspend health certificates, but said the Government should go further and ban personal imports of animal products without official veterinary documentation.

UK Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Christine Middlemiss urged livestock keepers to remain vigilant in their biosecurity as well for the clinical signs of foot-and-mouth.

Food and mouth poses no risk to human or food safety but is a highly contagious disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals.

Clinical signs vary depending on the animal but symptoms in cattle include sores and blisters on the feet, mouth and tongue as well as the potential for a fever, lameness and reluctance to feed. For sheep and pigs, the disease tends to manifest with lameness and potential for blistering.

The disease can have a devastating financial and emotional impact on affected farmers and rural communities, who face production losses like reduced milk yields and culling their livestock. But it can also lead to wider economic impacts with the loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.

The UK suffered major outbreaks of the disease in 2001 and 2007, leading to millions of pigs, cattle and sheep being slaughtered across the country.

The 2001 outbreak was estimated to have cost the UK public and private sectors £8 billion, equivalent to £24 billion in today’s money.

Mr Bradshaw said: “The confirmed outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Germany is very worrying news for all livestock keepers across the EU.

“We welcome the swift action taken in reporting the disease so that we can minimise the risk to all livestock keepers, and it is now paramount that we make sure our borders are secure so that we don’t risk importing the disease into the UK.

“With so much uncertainty about where this disease is and where it came from, and knowing the impact this horrendous disease can have, we're calling on the government to ban personal imports of meat, milk, and meat and milk products, unless accompanied by official veterinary documentation.”

The NFU's Mr Bradshaw said: "The Government must also ensure that those fighting illegal meat imports, including Border Force, have the resources they need to stamp out this practice.”

Chief vet Dr Middlemiss said: “We remain in constant contact with German counterparts to understand the latest situation following their confirmation of a single case of foot and mouth disease.

“We have robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of this disease to protect farmers and Britain’s food security, which means using all measures to limit the risk incursion and spread of this devastating disease.

“I would urge livestock keepers to exercise the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, follow scrupulous biosecurity, and report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.”

Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said: “The Government will do whatever it takes to protect our nation’s farmers from the risk posed by foot and mouth. That is why restrictions have immediately been brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak, and we will not hesitate to add additional countries if the disease spreads.

“We will continue to keep the situation under review, working closely with the German authorities.” Foot and mouth is a legally notifiable disease, which means failure to report it to the Government is an offence.

The Government recently announced a £200m investment in the UK’s main research and laboratory testing facilities at Weybridge to bolster protection against animal disease.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​