Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The UK has become the latest country to ban the import of live animals and meat from Germany in an effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease after the virus was detected in a herd of water buffalo near Berlin.
The British government said on Tuesday that it had prohibited the import of cattle, pigs, sheep and their products and urged livestock keepers to “remain vigilant” for signs of the disease.
There were no cases in the UK at present, the government added, as it vowed to do “whatever it takes” to protect farmers, including banning imports from other countries if the disease spread.
Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious viral disease that can spread rapidly through livestock. In 2001, the UK experienced one of the worst outbreaks of the disease, which resulted in the killing of 6.5mn infected and in-contact animals.
The direct cost of the outbreak was estimated to be more than £3bn, with a further £5bn in losses incurred by the tourism industry.
In an email on Tuesday seen by the Financial Times, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told importers that while goods that had arrived in the UK from Germany since the virus was detected would be largely safe, UK authorities would aim to trace and remove products that originated close to the outbreak.
“Where these products have recently arrived in GB and the [health certificate] was signed in good faith before the presence of FMD in Germany was confirmed, we urge businesses not to put this product into the GB supply chain,” Defra said.
Foot-and-mouth can spread between live animals in close contact with each other, from animals eating food or coming into contact with dead animals that have been infected with the virus, or from contamination in the environment. An outbreak in 2007 in the UK spread on the tyres of lorries.
Last week, Defra told traders that Germany had lost its foot-and-mouth free status under World Organisation for Animal Health rules, meaning many products would not be able to obtain veterinary certificates for exports outside the EU.
The outbreak in Germany originated in water buffalo on a farm in the eastern state of Brandenburg, the German government said.
South Korea and Mexico have already banned some meat and animal imports from Germany.
Peter Hardwick, policy adviser at the British Meat Processors Association, a trade body, welcomed the “essential” ban. But he cautioned that the disease “was easily spread by other animals, people and vehicles” and that there was already a risk that it had spread beyond the area of the initial outbreak — and potentially beyond Germany.
“On that basis we should treat all movements from the EU as a potential risk and take precautions such as disinfectant mats at all points of entry including ports, airports, Channel Tunnel and Eurostar,” Hardwick added.
One British customs agent said the disease had been a risk since last Friday but that Defra issued instructions to traders only on Tuesday.
“You have to worry about how much has already come in since last Friday,” the person said, adding that the UK’s current biosecurity arrangements were not sufficiently secure.
The border control post that manages the majority of checks on EU imports is 22 miles from goods’ point of entry at the port of Dover.
The House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee this month launched an inquiry into biosecurity measures for animal and plant products imported into the UK.
Christine Middlemiss, UK chief veterinary officer, said: “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.”
