Children in the North are being paid less than £3 (€4.29) an hour for labouring in the fields, it was revealed today.

The Irish Farmers' Association and the Ulster Farmers' Union have issued a joint call for an EU ban on Brazilian beef imports.

The burning of animals killed in the latest foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Co Tyrone and Co Antrim has begun.

The illegal movement of animals is suspected of being the root cause of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the North.

A flock of sheep are being slaughtered in the North this afternoon and tests carried out to see if they had the foot and mouth virus.