Britain lowers restrictions amid EU extension of foot and mouth ban

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LONDON, Aug 9 (AFP): Restrictions on animal movement imposed after a foot and mouth outbreak in Britain last week were eased today, though the European Union extended its ban on British meat and livestock exports.
Livestock were also being culled at a third site within the protection zone established around the farms where the first two outbreaks were recorded, with test results from the cull expected in the coming days.
"The decision has been taken to permit the movement of live animals direct to slaughter and the collection of dead animals from farms" from midnight Wednesday (2300 GMT), said Britain's chief vet Debby Reynolds.
The move was welcomed by British livestock farmers keen to get their industry running again, but just hours later the news came from a meeting of EU veterinary experts in Brussels that there would be no such easing on exports.
"Britain should continue to be treated as a high-risk zone in view of the uncertainty of the situation," said Philip Tod, spokesman for EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.
"The situation has not stabilised," he added.
The EU formally imposed the export ban Monday and Wednesday's decision means it will remain in place for at least another two weeks.
A European Commission statement said EU member states were unanimous in their decision and it "welcomed the effort being made to rapidly identify the source, and encouraged the UK to continue its investigations on this matter".
Another meeting of the veterinary expert group will be held on August 23.
Reynolds said the partial lifting of the animal movement ban would cover the whole country except for within the protection and exclusion zones set up around the affected farms and a nearby research centre at Pirbright, southwest of London.