Agriculture Minister calls for vigilance following UK FMD outbreak

Following the recent resurgence of foot-and-mouth (FMD) in England, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Bríd Rodgers has warned people in the province to avoid complacency.

With a confirmed outbreak in Northumberland and suspected cases in Scotland, the Minister cautioned that people needed to be vigilant as Northern Ireland was vulnerable to another outbreak if the disease was again spreading.

The outbreak in Northumberland has seen the area placed under tight restrictions to prevent the spread of FMD beyond the immediate area affected.

By Tuesday August 28, several farms in Scotland had also been placed on alert as fears grew that the outbreak in Northumberland may have already have spread to Scottish farms.

Measures include the imposing of restrictions on the movement of livestock in the affected areas.

Mrs Rodgers said that the negative effects on the tourism industry, disruption to rural life, and how hard the farming community and Government had worked to keep FMD out of the province should not be forgotten.

Earlier this year Northern Ireland experienced four cases of FMD affecting farms in counties Armagh, Tyrone, and Antrim

The Agriculture Minister appealed for farmers to keep their guard up at possible points of entry. (SP)