IFA wants imports ban

THE LARGEST farm organisation in the State has demanded an immediate ban on the importation of all cattle from bluetongue- infected areas following the discovery of 24 animals which had been exposed to the disease.

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Pádraig Walshe described the precautionary measures taken by the Department of Agriculture since finding the animals as "inadequate". The 24 cattle, part of one consignment imported into the west of Ireland, were found in tests carried out on 512 imported beasts.

The department said last week that the 24 animals had been exposed to the virus and had developed an immunity to it and were now free of the disease and did not pose a threat to the national herd.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times