June 19, 2010

South Korea lifts livestock movement restrictions

South Korea has removed all restrictions on the movement of livestock in the country after no new cases of FMD were reported in more than a month, the government said Friday (June 18).

An FMD outbreak was confirmed on April 8 in a county 58 kilometres west of Seoul, prompting the government to limit the movement of livestock in an effort to prevent its spread.

"Restrictions imposed on the movement of animals have been lifted. The country has lowered its animal disease alert status to 'blue, the lowest level in the four-tiered system," said Kim Jeong-wook, an official for the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

There have been no confirmed cases of the disease since May 6 and detailed examinations of animals around the 11 confirmed outbreak sites all tested negative for the disease.

According to the ministry, 49,874 animals have been destroyed since April, with total losses estimated at 194.9 billion won (US$161.4 million).

The April outbreak is the second in 2010 after six cases of FMD were confirmed in January in a region north of Seoul. This first outbreak forced the culling of 5,956 animals at a cost of 40.8 billion won (US$33.89 million).

The official said that if there are no new cases of the disease in the coming weeks and if outbreaks in neighbouring countries such as China and Japan subside, Seoul will formally declare itself "clear" of the disease and ask the OIE for confirmation around August so that the country can regain its foot-and-mouth free status.

After regaining a disease-free status, South Korea will be able to restart negotiations with other countries over exports of pork and dairy products.