Sabotage At Pirbright Linked To Religious Extremists
UK - "Sabotage is emerging as the most likely cause of the recent FMD outbreak in England". This is according to former NZ Animal Health Committee observer and London-based independent researcher Don Stewart.

IFA Challanges Minister Over Brazilian Beef Imports
IRELAND - IFA President Padraig Walshe said today IFA and the farming community strongly support the essential biosecurity measures taken by the Minister for Agriculture to guard against the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Britain spreading to ...

Ministers Want Private Lab To Be Blamed For Leak
UK - Ministers are frustrated by the failure of the Health and Safety Executive to assert that a private laboratory at Pirbright, Surrey, was to blame for the leak which led to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Scots Press Brussels For Early End To Export Ban
SCOTLAND - Despite the general winding down of the foot-and-mouth panic, which has revolved around a handful of farms in Surrey, exports of beef and lamb from Scotland are unlikely to resume for several weeks.

Payouts May Be Limited To Infected Stock
UK - Farmers and other businesses which have been financially affected by the foot and mouth outbreaks were yesterday finding out whether they could sue the government or the drugs firm Merial over the millions of pounds a day they claim to have lost...

Ulster Gets FMD-Free Status, But Concern Grows For Some Markets
IRELAND - Northern Ireland will be able to distance itself from the rest of Britain with new export documentation detailing its foot-and-mouth free status.

Grave Concern Takes Root In The Wake Of HSE Report
UK - Early indications from a Health and Safety Executive report that the Foot and Mouth Disease Virus could have originated from the Animal Health Institute or the Merial site has added to the anger and frustration already felt by farmers in Wales. ...

Abottoirs Open At Midnight
SCOTLAND - Cross-border movements of animals being transferred direct to abattoirs under strict controls will resume from midnight tonight.

Don't Hold Your Breath For The EU To Lift Its Ban
BRUSSELS - Yesterday a committee of veterinarians met in Brussels to discuss the EU's ban on the export of fresh British meat and livestock. Hours later they came to the conclusion that the foot and mouth outbreak had not been stabilised. The ban would...

Brazil Has Foot And Mouth Too
BRAZIL - Furious farmers last night called for a ban on beef imports from countries with foot and mouth disease while British livestock movement remains frozen.

Animal movement ban relaxation welcomed
UK - The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has welcomed the announcement that from midnight tonight (Wednesday 8 August), movement to slaughter and the disposal of fallen stock can begin under strict biosecurity controls outside the protection...

Third farm under suspicion, animals to be culled
UK - The government has announced that the ban on livestock movement brought in following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey is to be eased for the majority of the UK from midnight.

Merial acknowledge the interim report issued by the HSE today.
UK - Merial fully support the investigation and will continue to co-operate and provide complete access to our centre to enable these investigations to continue.

Initial Report On Potential Biosecurity Breaches At Pirbright
UK - The first report yet examining biosecurity practises at the Pirbrigh site was released by the Health and Safety Executive earlier today. Suspisions were raised when it became apparent that the Pirbrigh facility is mere kilometers away from the outbreaks....

Industry Counts The Cost Of F And M
UK - A ban on all livestock movements - essential to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease - has added huge costs to the region's farming and food businesses, writes rural affairs editor Michael Pollitt.

Merial Denies Biosecurity Breach
UK - Pharmaceutical firm Merial has repeated its claim that it is not responsible for the recent foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey.

Lab Says "No Evidence" It Is Behind UK Cattle Disease
LONDON - A research laboratory at the centre of an investigation into an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in southern Britain said on Wednesday it had complete confidence in its biosecurity measures.

FMD Report Indicates Strong Link With Lab
UK - A second report is due today on Britain's foot and mouth outbreak, after an initial probe suggested human activity at a laboratory as the most likely cause.

Movement To Slaughter Welcomed
UK - The announcement that farmers in England can start to send cattle and sheep to slaughter has been welcomed by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).

NFU considering FMD legal action
UK - The NFU is considering legal action on behalf of farmers throughout the country who have been hit by the foot-and-mouth outbreak.