The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the import ban currently in place due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Germany will be amended.
The import ban on cattle, pigs, sheep, deer, buffaloes, and their products (such as meat and dairy) that is in place following an FMD outbreak in Germany is being amended.
This decision follows “rigorous technical assessment” of the measures applied in Germany and the current situation.
If the situation changes, Defra said it will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect the UK’s domestic biosecurity.
Great Britain has officially recognised regionalisation for FMD in Germany at the containment zone level, which covers a 6km radius around the outbreak. Consequently, the export of affected commodities can resume from areas outside this zone, provided all other import requirements are satisfied.
Personal imports of packaged and unpackaged meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants will remain in place at a country level.
Defra stressed that livestock keepers should be “absolutely rigorous” about their biosecurity, as although FMD poses no risk to human or food safety, it is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs, and other cloven-hoofed animals.
