§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what actions the Government have taken in respect of meat and livestock products imported from South Africa following the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease there. [144261]
§ Mr. Nick Brown[holding answer 8 January 2001]: Following notification from the European Commission of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Africa, the Government have acted to prohibit the importation of fresh meat from South Africa. All UK Border Inspection Posts, where imports of animal products from third countries must be checked before entering the UK, have been alerted. The European Commission have also informed us that South Africa has put in place a prohibition on exports of fresh meat to the EU.
Meat products and other products of animal origin derived from fresh meat of South African origin are also prohibited as Community import rules require the meat to come from countries or regions free of foot and mouth 59W disease for a period of 12 months. There are currently no South African establishments approved to export dairy products into the UK. Any FMD susceptible products of animal origin which fall outside of the scope of European legislation would have to comply with UK national requirements which include safeguards against the introduction of FMD.
Commission Decision 2000/623/EC prohibits the import of livestock from South Africa with the exception of horses.