Eight more vets on way to help British

By JOSIE CLARKE

A second contingent of eight New Zealand vets was leaving for Britain this morning to help control the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The team will join five New Zealand vets already patrolling and managing infected sites in Britain.

Veterinary experts from the 15 European Union nations on Tuesday ordered the closure of all livestock markets across the bloc for two weeks in an effort to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth.

The panel also extended until March 27 a ban on all exports of meat, livestock and milk products from Britain.

The tyres of vehicles arriving in other EU countries from Britain will be disinfected.

The moves were approved despite Britain's message to the meeting that the outbreak of foot-and-month disease could be close to peaking.

A British farmer who arrived at Auckland International Airport this week straight off a farm said no effort was made to screen him for foot-and-mouth disease.

His claim was made as Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton announced the Government would tighten border controls to keep the disease out of New Zealand.

Farmer Ian Tew said he declared on entering New Zealand that he had been on a farm in the past 30 days.

He said he had expected to give up his footwear or luggage for fumigation, but instead was let through. His British passport had a farm address on it.

"I walked through the first lot of officers, then thought I'd be stopped by some more further along. But I just sailed on through."

He had walked off an Oxfordshire cropping farm before boarding his plane to New Zealand. While the farm did not contain animals and was not in a foot-and-mouth infected area, Mr Tew said it was still possible that he could be carrying the disease.

"Coming from the UK in the present foot-and-mouth environment, I took every precaution I should before coming over here.

"I was horrified to find the border controls here were so lax."

Meanwhile, New Zealand meat importers in Britain are covering part of the cost of flying in chilled lamb, to avoid being accused of profiteering from the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Anger is rising in Britain amid predictions that the cost of meat is about to soar due to foreign producers demanding exorbitant prices.

British product is running out, and retailers are relying on New Zealand lamb, pork from Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, and beef from Ireland.

New Zealand lamb is now so sought after that newspaper reports are telling of "argy bargy" as buyers compete to secure stock. Prices have risen accordingly.

Meat New Zealand last week withdrew its "clean green" British advertising campaign as it felt it was inappropriate as farmers there suffered.

One supermarket supplier announced it would add 30 per cent to the prices of all its meat products in the next couple of days as European prices rose by 40 per cent.

Lord Haskins, chairman of Northern Foods, one of the main suppliers to Sainsbury, Tesco and Marks and Spencer stores, said the move was an inevitable consequence of dwindling domestic supplies.

But Meat New Zealand spokesman Terry Brown said local exporters were earning only slightly more than usual.

A chilled 1.8kg New Zealand leg of lamb was retailing for about $18, Mr Brown said. Legs of lamb sell in New Zealand supermarkets for about $11 a kilogram.

Feature: Foot-and-Mouth Disease epidemic