Further easing of foot and mouth restrictions

The Minister for Agriculture has announced a further easing of restrictions imposed to combat the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic.

Mr Joe Walsh, however, stressed that the State was not yet "home and dry" in relation to the disease, and repeatedly warned against complacency at a press briefing this afternoon.

It is vital that our approach is measured and orderly and takesaccount of the fact that we are still some way from the point at which we canbegin to feel relaxed about the FMD situation in general Mr Joe Walsh, Minister for Agriculture

"We cannot take risks to squander the sacrifices that have been made over the last nine weeks," he said. "The disease may still be present on the island of Ireland."

"It remains the case that the situation in Northern Ireland is uncertain and that there is still, and will continue to befor some time, a considerable overhang of risk from Britain."

Among the measures announced today are the relaxation on restrictions on the movement of stock bulls between farms for breeding purposes and the movement of cattle between different areas of the same holding will be permitted, effective from tomorrow.

Other restrictions to be lifted include those on recreational use of farming land, including hillwalking, angling and pony trekking. These would be permitted from May 11th, the Minister said. However, he urged the public to "behave responsibly" by avoiding contact with animals and using disinfectant.

He was also in consultation with equine authorities to allow the importation of horses from Britain, and an announcement was expected soon.

Arrangements were also being made to allow the reopening of Dublin Zoo, Fota Wildlife Park and a number of open farms.

Mr Walsh said that special arrangements would remain in place in north Co Louth, where the only case of foot-and-mouth in the Republic was confirmed in March.

The 10 km exclusion zone around the farm at Proleek in the Cooley Peninsula, where the virus was found, was lifted at midnight last night.

The movement of sheep in general and that of cattle between farms would still be prohibited, however. There are still 65 herds of animals restricted around the country, and the result of tests on samples taken from animals from Louth, Cork and North Leitrim were awaited. These were not causes of great concern, the Minister said.

"It is vital that our approach is measured and orderly and takesaccount of the fact that we are still some way from the point at which we canbegin to feel relaxed about the FMD situation in general," said Mr Walsh.

He warned that the smuggling of animals was still a cause for concern, warning smugglers that they would face the stiffest punishments allowed under the law.

"There has been a weakness in the system in that there hasn’t been individual tagging, and a small number of individuals have taken advantage.

"A pro-active approach will continue to be taken in order to detect the illegal movement of animals," he said. "We have the most severe measures in the EU."

The controversial sheep-tagging system will be introduced later this month, and is expected to take until next Christmas to complete.

A total of 60,000 animals have been culled in the Republic in the past three months, and a further 200,000 samples from 3,000 flocks are due to be taken during the next few months.