Foot and mouth returns in South America

Farmers resisting the possibility of concessions on beef by the EU Commission in free trade deal talks with South American countries have a new cause for alarm, after the first case of foot and mouth disease in South American cattle since 2013 was found in Colombia.

In Colombia’s first incidence of the disease in eight years, seven cases were found in a herd of 136 female beef cattle in the Arauca region.

Already, farmers had called on EU authorities to remove beef from any Mercosur deal talks, after the US Department of Agriculture banned its imports of fresh Brazilian beef.

IFA National Livestock Chairman Angus Woods said the Mercosur countries had consistently failed to meet EU standards on key issues of traceability, animal health and welfare controls, the ban on hormone growth promoters, and environmental controls. He said the US authorities have recognised that there is a problem, and have insisted that consumers cannot be exposed to food products that do not meet US standards. Now exposure to foot and mouth has added to farmer’s fears of concessions that allow extra beef imports