IFA calls for Argentinean beef ban

IRISH farm leaders yesterday called for a ban on beef imports from South America where Argentina is the latest country to confirm an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

The outbreak was discovered among 70 animals on a farm near the border with Paraguay. It is the first outbreak of the contagious disease since August 2003 in Argentina, the fifth largest beef exporter in the world.

A ban on imports from the region where the outbreak was confirmed is now likely to be imposed by countries worldwide.