Germany cattle slaughter begins

HANOVER, Germany - Germany is investigating its first suspected case of foot-and mouth disease in cattle since the outbreak began in Britain.

Calves on a farm in the Lower Saxony region have shown symptoms of the disease and a slaughter began on Sunday.

The suspected case arose after 25 new cases of foot-and mouth disease emerged in Britain, bringing the total number of cases there to 164.

It was the highest daily number of outbreaks in the UK since the outbreak was first identified on February 20.

But UK Agriculture Minister Nick Brown insisted in a television interview that the disease has now been brought under control.

Germany's State Agriculture Minister Uwe Bartels said a farm with 99 calves in the district of Vechta reported its suspicions on Saturday evening.

"There's a 50-50 chance that this is a case of foot-and-mouth disease," Bartels said.

Many of the calves had suffered from high fever and blistering around the mouth. But first blood and tissue tests for foot-and-mouth conducted on Sunday were negative, he said.

Bartels said full test results were expected by midweek. Germany has so far escaped foot-and-mouth spilling over from Britain.

It is the first suspected case in cattle. A handful of suspicious cases in sheep and pigs have all tested negative.

As a precaution against the highly contagious virus, Germany's foot-and-mouth emergency committee on Thursday banned transport of all cloven-hoofed animals until March 27, with the exception of direct transport to slaughterhouses and between farms.

Like the rest of continental Europe, Germany has been on high alert for the disease since it surfaced in Britain last month. Germany has not had a case of foot-and-mouth disease since 1988.

In Britain, the agriculture minister insisted the restrictions on livestock movement and the destruction of thousands of infected animals were containing the highly infectious disease.

Brown said: "I'm absolutely certain we have it under control. I know the sight of dead animals being burned is horrific and worries people, but it's the right policy to pursue."

New cases reported on Sunday included outbreaks in Scotland, Wales, the Lake District of the northwest, Devon in the south, and Kent in the southeast.

More than 114,000 animals have been killed and sent to be disposed of, and a further 30,000 are awaiting slaughter, the Agriculture Ministry said.

So far confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease, which afflicts cattle, sheep and pigs, have been confined to the UK. But most of northwest Europe is on alert to protect livestock from infection.

A nationwide ban on moving livestock was imposed two weeks ago in a bid to curb the virus in Britain. Swathes of rural land have been put off-limits, sports fixtures have been called off and animal funeral pyres have burnt across the country.

Despite the precautionary measures more than 50 cases have been confirmed in the last three days, just as government officials might have hoped to see their actions starting to bear fruit.

Farmers said they feared the disease, which can incubate for up to two weeks, was set to spread still further. "I think this week will see the rate going faster," National Farmers' Union deputy director-general Ian Gardiner said.

The British meat industry estimates a livestock export ban is costing it £8 million ($12m) a week in lost sales. Tourism chiefs say their industry also faces disaster as wide areas of the countryside remain off-limits.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Foot-and-mouth spread fears
March 10, 2001
EU battles foot-and-mouth spread
March 6, 2001
Virus sparks call to shut borders
March 5, 2001
Livestock virus controls extended
March 6, 2001
France bans animal markets
March 5, 2001
France, Belgium suspect foot-and-mouth
March 3, 2001
UK outbreak raises questions
March 3, 2001
Europe steps up disease controls
March 2, 2001

Cheltenham Racecourse - UK National Hunt Racing
The Grand National
British Horseracing Board
Badminton Horse Trials 2001
Foot-and-Mouth Disease
UK National Farmers' Union
UK Ministry of Agriculture: Foot-and-mouth
The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
European Union: Agriculture policies

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.