UK: trade in livestock begins
Livestock markets in Britain were open again on February 11, 2002 for the first time since the foot-and-mouth crisis began. Security measures will remain strict and trade will not be quite as it was before the epidemic struck. A licensing system has been put in place to restrict the movement of pigs and sheep, and only those due for slaughter can be sold. All cattle can be traded as normal.
Despite being warmly welcomed by farmers and countryside groups, the question over the government’s handling of the outbreak remains. The media in Britain have joined the effort to open up a public enquiry into the foot-and-mouth crisis. A court has given several media organisations the right to get involved in a legal challenge to the UK government’s refusal to hold such an enquiry.
