Restrictions on cattle imports from North are still in place

RULES for cattle imports from Northern Ireland have not been relaxed, despite the lifting of the EU ban on export of beef from the UK.

With 249 cases of brucellosis in Northern Ireland in 2006, up to September, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan said she still has serious reservations about relaxing importation rules, given the close proximity to Northern Ireland of some marts in the north and north west of the Republic.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, David Cairns, has launched a new code of practice for imported animals, to ensure they do not compromise the health status of the province’s herds.