UK bans meat imports from Hungary and Slovakia after FMD case

The United Kingdom has banned meat and dairy imports from Hungary and Slovakia after a case of foot and mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed along the border between the two countries. The ban covers cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and non-domestic ruminants like deer. From Sunday (March 9), travellers will also not be able to bring meat and dairy products from Hungary and Slovakia into the UK. In a statement, Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said that the UK government “will do whatever it takes” to protect the country from the disease and warned about possible measures against other countries affected by FMD. London has already banned the import of cattle, pigs, and sheep from Germany, where an FMD outbreak was reported in January. However, there are claims that German products are still crossing the border illegally due to the lack of updated import control measures. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs denies these claims, saying that proper restrictions were immediately brought in to ban German products and avoid the risk of an outbreak.
The current ban has been caused by an FMD case detected by Hungarian authorities in a large cattle farm on the border with Slovakia. For Tom Haynes, senior policy adviser at the National Pig Association (NPA), the event requires UK authorities to revise their biosecurity and border measures to protect British producers. He also reminded the public that the 2001 FMD outbreak in the UK devastated the farming industry and cost over £14 billion in today’s prices. More than 2000 farms were affected and millions of animals were slaughtered.