Germany’s Ministry of Agriculture is breathing a (partial) sigh of relief: after the first (and so far only) case on January 10, no new cases of foot-and-mouth disease have emerged on the country’s farms. For German authorities, the fact is reassuring, Reuters reports, because it implies that there is no epidemic in progress. And because, moreover, the containment of the contagion is the premise set by the European Union so that there is no foreshadowing of the need to impose restrictions on the free movement of livestock products from Germany. Restrictions that, on the other hand, someone has already imposed.
The case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany
So far, writes the international press, only the border with Poland has placed tighter controls, while the Netherlands has halted purchases of live calves, a move that goes hand in hand with Berlin’s decision to stop granting veterinary permits for live cattle exports. Useful cautionary measures to avoid the worst-case scenario: a freeze on international trade in animal products (and by-products, including hides). Meanwhile, there are those who preferred to close their borders as early as the first case: the United Kingdom, among Germany’s main trading partners, immediately halted purchases of cattle, pig and sheep and goat products, as did Mexico and South Korea soon after.
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