RI bans import of livestock from EU<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Agencies): Indonesia has banned imports of livestock,
\nmeat and other animal products from Europe to prevent the spread
\nof highly contagious foot and mouth disease, Director General for
\nlivestock development Sofyan Sudardjat said here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We have banned all imports of cattle, meat and animal
\nproducts from all countries in Europe since late December,\"
\nSudardjat told Reuters.<\/p>\n
But the ban was not publicly announced at that time.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been officially free of the disease since 1990.<\/p>\n
The country had been importing small amounts of meat from
\nIreland, but that was stopped in December by the ban.<\/p>\n
\"Although imports from Ireland are very small, as a
\nprecaution, we decide to ban all imports from Europe, including
\nfrom Ireland,\" Sudardjat said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia imports cattle, meat and meat products mostly from
\nAustralia and New Zealand, as well as some from the United
\nStates.<\/p>\n
In a related development, the U.S. government said on Tuesday
\nit would scrub the shoes of American travelers returning from the
\nEuropean countryside to prevent the financially devastating foot-
\nand-mouth disease from hitchhiking into the United States.<\/p>\n
The government also banned all imports of live animals and raw
\nmeat products from the European Union after the disease surfaced
\nat a cattle farm in France.<\/p>\n
Washington took the actions to prevent the spread of foot-and-
\nmouth disease, a virus that cripples cattle, pigs, goats, sheep
\nand deer and is so infectious because it can be spread by gusty
\nwinds or truck tires.<\/p>\n
All EU meat products shipped to the United States since Feb.
\n21 will be quarantined and inspected.<\/p>\n
\"All EU products are put on hold,\" said Kevin Herglotz, a U.S.
\nAgriculture Department spokesman. \"Any shipment en route to the
\nUnited States since around Feb. 21 would be held for inspection.\"<\/p>\n
The USDA urged American tourists bound for Britain to avoid
\nvisiting farms, zoos or other animal facilities for five days
\nprior to returning. Any soiled shoes, luggage, cameras, laptops
\nor cellphones should be disinfected with a water and bleach
\nsolution, the government said.<\/p>\n
Travelers arriving at 110 U.S. ports of entry will be asked by
\nU.S. Customs if they visited a farm while in Europe. If so, they
\nwill undergo a disinfection procedure, the USDA said.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Canada's Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief said on
\nTuesday the country is extending a ban on all agricultural
\nimports to cover the entire 15-nation European Union.<\/p>\n
The ban -- which includes livestock, farm products and even
\nused farm equipment -- was previously limited to Britain
\nfollowing the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in that country.<\/p>\n
The highly contagious disease jumped from Britain into France,
\ndespite farm travel restrictions, disinfection procedures, and
\nother extraordinary precautions.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, France reported its first case of foot-and-mouth
\ndisease since 1981 in a herd of 114 cattle in a northwest
\nprovince. Separately, Argentina confirmed an outbreak in its
\ncentral Buenos Aires province and Colombia said it detected its
\nfirst cases of the disease this year.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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