Samples from Louth farm prove negative

The Department of Agriculture confirmed this afternoon that final results of tests on samples from Piedmont, Co Louth, have proved negative for foot-and-mouth from the Pirbright laboratory in Britain.

Final results from a tests on sheep from a farm in Bunlcody, Co Wexford and from farms in Co Laois and Tipperary are still outstanding, but a Department of Agriculture spokesman told ireland.comthat they are confident that these will also prove negative for the virus.

Samples taken from animals in Camolin, Co Wexford and Annestown in Co Waterford were earlier confirmed as negative for the disease.

Herd from farm in Mullatee, near Carlingford, Co Louth which formed part of Cooley cull

The preliminary results for the Piedmont samples, which had been cause of "grave concern" to the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Walsh, were returned negative last Friday.

The farm in Piedmont was adjacent to the Rice farm on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth where the Republic's only case of foot-andmouth disease was found.

Department of Agriculture officials were today continuing the cull in the Cooley Peninsula, Co Louth where an estimated 27,000 sheep have been slaughtered in the past week.

A total of 5,000 sheep were culled yesterday and a Department spokesman said a similar number were being killed today. The cull of the remaining 5,000 sheep in the exclusion zone is scheduled for tomorrow.

As of last night, a further 4,505 sheep and 360 cattle had been slaughtered around the country as a precautionary measure, the Department said.