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UK pork banned
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AN OUTBREAK of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain sparked alarm across the world, prompting governments to impose immediate import bans on British livestock and animal products in an effort to halt its spread.
The European Union, the United States, Canada and South Korea led the way in announcing quick crackdowns on Wednesday after Britain disclosed that the highly infectious disease had been found in a small group of pigs at an English abattoir.
The infectious disease was discovered on Monday in 27 pigs at a slaughterhouse at Little Warley, east of London.
The Netherlands, a member of the 15-nation European Union, has already acted without waiting for the union's decision. It decided to ban the imports of British pigs, sheep and goats and it also decided that any animals that had already arrived from Britain would have to be inspected and certified free of the disease before being transported.
The European Union last year imported 160,414 tonnes of pork from Britain, more than 80 per cent of its total exports.
The foot-and-mouth disease is highly infectious due to its airborne capability. The disease affects cloven-footed animals like pigs, sheep, goats and cows. It is usually not fatal but can cause weight loss and reduced dairy production in cattle. The disease is not harmful to human health.
British farmers said that the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in pigs was a further blow to an industry already struggling with growing consumer concerns over meat after a series of food scares, including the notorious mad cow disease.(Xinhua)
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