Government to Help Farmers Affected by Foot-and-Mouth Disease

The government is providing all human and material resources to eradicate the foot-and-mouth disease; nothing can jeopardize the safe food supply, the Agriculture Minister said in a video posted on Facebook on Thursday.

István Nagy recalled that the animal health situation was assessed at an extraordinary ministerial meeting on Thursday morning. He pointed out that in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron (northwestern Hungary), a livestock farm in Levél had also been affected by foot-and-mouth disease.

Accordingly, a protection zone of three kilometers and a surveillance zone of 10 kilometers have been established, where restrictions are in place in accordance with the legislation.

In the districts of Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár, the movement of susceptible animals is prohibited until midnight on Saturday, grazing and hunting are banned, and zoos remain closed. At the same time, the eradication of the animals will also start soon. Arrangements have also been made to dispose of the eradicated livestock in the vicinity of the farm.

Nagy said that in this situation it was also of the utmost importance to control the backyard livestock. However, it is important to know that the local authority must be informed in advance of the date of slaughter, as samples must be taken from the animals.

The Minister also indicated that all exhibitions and fairs involving susceptible animals will be banned.

Nagy asked the managers of the farms to organize the isolation of their workers to prevent the spread of the virus. “We are doing everything we can to stop the spread of the infection, but we need the cooperation of livestock farmers,” the Agriculture Minister emphasized.

On Thursday, Nagy also met with the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi. “We are working together to control the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Nothing should jeopardize a safe food supply,” the minister wrote on his social media page.

In the meantime, the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in southern Slovakia, close to the Hungarian border, is getting worse, reports Világgazdaság. On Wednesday, the smaller border crossings with Hungary were closed, leaving only the four major border crossings open, where huge traffic is causing disruption, writes Index.

Új Szó reported that some people fear that the supply of meat and dairy products will fall while prices could rise, prompting Slovak shoppers to start stocking up, especially on long-life milk. “Around one fifth of an average €50 food purchase is usually spent on cattle-related products. The uncertainty of milk supply depends on the epidemic situation,” said Jana Holéciová, spokeswoman for the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber.

Via Világgazdaság, Új Szó, Index, Featured photo via MTI/Máthé Zoltán