Foot-and-mouth labs must be made safer, say farm leaders
IRELAND - Irish farmers have called for the Pirbright laboratory at the centre of last month's foot and mouth (FMD) outbreak in Britain to be relocated to a safer, more protected facility away from a flood plain.

FMD disinfection points to be discontinued
IRELAND - Disinfection points at Irish ports and airports, introduced in the immediate aftermath of last month's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain, are being discontinued with effect from tomorrow

FMD outbreak lab 'should stay shut'
UK - Angry farmers affected by the foot-and-mouth outbreak have said that the Government's Pirbright facility, blamed for leaking the disease, should not continue operating until the source is found.

Merial Statement Following Release Of UK Government Reports On Foot And Mouth Disease Outbreak In The UK
UK - Merial welcomes the HSE and Spratt reports issued this morning by DEFRA which do not find any biosecurity breach by Merial.

Publication Of Reports Into Foot And Mouth Outbreak In Surrey
LONDON - Defra has today published reports from the Health and Safety Executive and Professor Brian Spratt, of Imperial College London, into the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Surrey.

Five Breaches At Farm Disease Lab
UK - There were at least five breaches of bio-security at a lab connected with July's foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the BBC has learned.

Danish Slaughterhouse Closed Because Of Fear Of Foot-And-Mouth Disease
COPENHAGEN - Danish authorities Thursday closed a slaughterhouse because of fears that a cow had foot-and-mouth disease. The Danish Crown abattoir in Holstebro, 300 kilometers (190 miles) northwest of Copenhagen, suspended activities after a cow due...

Foot-And-Mouth Inquiry Points To Leaking Pipe At Research Laboratory
PIRBRIGHT - A leaking pipe was the likely source of this summer’s outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, a report is expected to conclude tomorrow.

Updated Timetable For Return To FMD-Free Status
UK - The timetable for the UK’s return to foot and mouth disease (FMD) free status has been updated.

VMD 'Has No Objection' To Merial Re-Starting FMD Vaccines
UK - The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has confirmed it has no objection to Merial re-starting manufacture of foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines from stored, inactivated antigens at our Pirbright Centre. These antigens are fully safety tested....

Foot-And-Mouth's Lessons Learned
UK - In 2001 foot-and-mouth became a national epidemic. It lasted for seven months. Six million animals were slaughtered and it cost the country £8bn.

Staff Return To Work At Abattoir
GWYNEDD - Shifts have restarted at a Gwynedd abattoir, two weeks after 47 workers were laid off with the firm blaming the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey.

Tough swift action needed to bring relief to UK farmers
UK - The health of UK's livestock industry is almost at breaking point and price rises are on the cards.

First cattle sold after outbreak
OXFORD - Farmers in Oxford have had the chance to deliver their livestock to supermarkets for the first time since the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Stock Movements from Midnight, Sales Resume Monday
UK - QMS has welcomed the Scottish Government announcement that stock movements can resume from midnight tonight, and sales, auctions and shows can be held from Monday.

Animal Exports Resume To EU
UK - It has been agreed this morning that live animals and meat products can be exported from outside of the Surveillance Zone in Surrey from Saturday 25th August to the rest of the European Union with additional veterinary supervision and certifi...

Foot And Mouth Outbreak Spurs Biosecurity Issue
LONDON - Leipziger Messe has announced that 'Laboratory Safety and Biosafety' will be the subject of a conference stream to be held at the inaugural LAB trade fair and conference

GE Vaccine Implicated In Foot and Mouth Incident
NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand's transgenic research centres are potentially able to cause the spread of virulent unwanted disease and must be investigated in light of the new evidence on Foot and Mouth in England,

EU to Reappraise Ban on British Meat Exports
EU - After Britain eased restrictions on livestock movement, the European Commission is expected to evaluate the situation during a meeting on Thursday and possibly lift the ban imposed on meat exports following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease...

FMD Decision To Be Given On Thursday
UK - British farmers will know on Thursday if they can resume the export of livestock and livestock products from the UK, following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Surrey earlier this month.

CRC To Prepare Report On Rural Economy Following Floods And Foot And Mouth
FARMING UK - In the context of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, the Prime Minister has asked the Commission for Rural Communities to report on ways in which the rural economy can be further strengthened.

Abattoir Falls Victim To Foot-And-Mouth
SHROPSHIRE - A major Shropshire abattoir has closed following the latest foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) set back.

Collection Centres And Slaughter Markets
UK - Debby Reynolds, Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), has today set out the plans to allow the movement of cattle and sheep direct to slaughter collections and sales from 23 August subject to no alteration to the level of risk.

Important Week For Scottish Livestock Sector
UK - Scotland’s red meat industry is entering a critical week with crunch talks in Brussels on unwinding European export restrictions set to begin. The Brussels veterinary committee, the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (ScoFCaH), will...

Pork Export Crisis Grows
UK - Farming Life has been informed that shipments of pork from Northern Ireland were refused entry to Hong Kong and a number of Caribbean ports yesterday morning, in the wake of the foot and mouth outbreaks in Surrey. This follows on from similar decisions...