Confirmed & unconfirmed cases 4 sites in Scotland. <BR>One unconfirmed (but almost certain) in Belgium. <BR>Cases in N.Ireland to, how long before its in Eire? <BR>Hold on to your hats............

That's OK. I never eat feet or mouths. Too chewy.

At the moment there is no outbreak of Foot and Mouth in Ireland but the Irish Gov. are taking all precautions in an attempt to prevent the spread of it from the UK and Northern Ireland to the Republic. <BR> <BR>These precautions include people being asked to disinfect at entry points to the Republic, spraying of vehicles etc and the prohibiting of the importation of any food and livestock from the UK and N.Ireland. Travel between the Republic and the UK and NI is actively discouraged with all Irish horses not travelling to take part in UK race meetings etc. Essential travel is only advisable. <BR> <BR>The disease which is not harmful to the public affetcs animals and spreads very easily. Animals exported from the UK to Euroe have already spread the disease on to the continent including France and Germany and Belgium but the outbreaks are small in comparsion to the UK which has over 40 cases at the moment throughout the country. National Parks in the UK are closed. <BR> <BR>People travelling to Ireland should also check out www.ireland.travel.ie for details on restrictions on people's activities etc - St Patrick's Day parties etc have been postponed and all events which involve gathering of people cancelled. <BR> <BR>The public and that includes visitors and tourists are asked not to visit farms (and farmers are bluntly telling people they don't want them on their <BR>property) in fact farm visits are prohibited. <BR> <BR>Hill walking etc is actively discouraged and there may be moves this weekend to prevent people hill walking and hiking through the Mountains if it appears that the public are not folowing the warnings to stay out of the countryside. <BR> <BR>At the moment all Irish National Parks closed as is Dublin Zoo. Most Duchas heritage sites are closed. Dublin <BR>Castle/Government Buildings, Aras an Uachtarain (President's House in the Phoenix Park) are closed. <BR> <BR>In addition there are long delays at the border between Northern Ireland and Republic and people are asked to avoid visiting the countryside or come in contact with farms, farm animals or machinery. <BR> <BR>Irish people in the UK are asked not to return home unless totally necessary as the outbreak is very bad there. <BR> <BR>Aer Lingus have a refund policy (www.aerlingus.ie) but Ryanair isn't operating one due to the fact there is no ban on travelling between the UK and Ireland as yet. Aer Lingus is offering the refund due to the fact there are a lot of people travelling over to Ireland for the Patrick's Day festival from the USA. <BR> <BR>Travel betwen the UK, N.Ireland and the Republic is discouraged. Keep an eye on www.ireland.travel.ie or www.ireland.com <BR>or www.rte.ie/footandmouth (the national TV services - this site is not updated as regularly as the Tourist Board or the Irish Times) or the Irish Government Depart of Agriculture web site at www.irlgov.ie/daff <BR> <BR> <BR>Hope this helps folks with their travel plans, Foot and Mouth is not in Ireland but the government is determined to keep it out even if that means having a hude financial impact on the Irish tourism sector. All Irish meat is safe to eat due to the restrictions taken after the BSE outbreak some years ago. But that is another story. <BR> <BR>Cathy

For those wanting to keep on top of this news and learn more about the disease itself, thepigsite.com has much information that both the farmer and layperson may find helpful. There is even a forum for discussions.

UP

Cathy-we are a group of 10 adults traveling to Ireland first, then London then on to Paris at the end of June-coming home from Paris in July. <BR>We are staying at B&B's in Ireland. <BR>Will we have any problems traveling to London from Dublin, staying at B&B's, <BR>etc. Whatever information you can give me is appreciated. I hope this does not sound like stupid questions. <BR>Thank you so much. <BR>Patti

Last night on the local news I saw that all people coming in from Europe are being disinfected. All bags are being x-rayed AND searched. Expect two hour delays through customs. They showed mounds of siezed meat products. All smugglers are being charged. So no sneaking packets of uncooked British bacon into Canada no matter how much you dislike ours.

But how will this effect the black market haggis industry????

I am supposed to leave on March 19 for a 2 week trip to the UK that I have been planning for months. At this point it would be quite expensive to try and postpone or cancel the trip so we are going come hell or hi-water. We will be in London, Oxford and the Cotswolds, a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge, and then will be driving to Scotland. Could someone from the UK comment on what impact this situation will have on our trip.

Vicki<BR><BR>The only issue will be that they really don't want you to walk in the country. The national park, most of the nature reserves and places like Stonehenge are closed. Everything else is exactly as youexpect it and it will not impact on the city parts of your trip

Thanks for the response Sheila! What impact is it having on you guys in Scotland? I really feel for the farmers loosing their animals as I am from an agricultural area and our farmers just dumped hundreds of thousands of pounds of perfectly good potatos because of poor prices. They are going broke at an alarming rate. BTW "Buyer" that haggis joke was really funny.

Hello. I would also like to hear from someone in Ireland and how this outbreak could effect someone travelling there in May and June. I have the same situation as Patti. Thank you! Erin

Erin, <BR>The Irish Government has taken tough action to prevent Foot and Mouth spreading into Ireland (we are free of it so far and please God will stay that way) but all events involving the gathering of large crowds have been cancelled eg football matches, wedding fairs, conferences etc. All Duchas ie tourist sites and visitors centres have been closed and people are asked not to travel to the Uk and to take all disinfection precautions etc. For more information see www.ireland.travel.ie or www.ireland.com or the Irish dept. of Agriculture at www.irlgov.ie. For travel plans in April, May or June it should be OK however anyone planning to attend St Patrick's Day parades etc they will be disappointed as they have been postponed or cancelled. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR> <BR>PS do a search on this forum for more detailed info're F&M in ireland

I just e-mailed the B&B we are staying at in Northern Ireland because it is a farm & we are very concerned. Here is part of her letter. I especially like the part about smuggling 200 sheep. I wonder how that is done? <BR>Sheryl, <BR>I think there were queues of approx 3 hours to get over the border on the first day that the news of foot & mouth broke out (one week ago),but I believe crossing time is now normal-20 minutes. <BR>Foot & mouth broke out last Thursday, 1 March, in Northern Ireland with one case . One farmer living on the border had illegally smuggled 200 infected sheep from England to Northern Ireland and then smuggled 192 of them across the border into the Republic of Ireland. There has been silence about the whereabouts of these sheep in the Republic of Ireland (who would lose their 8 billion punt export market if news of any foot & mouth outbreaks became public within the European Community). The 8 sheep left in Northern Ireland on this farmer's one farm on the border in South Armagh currently constitute the extent of the problem in Northern Ireland. The incubation period for the disease is 10 days. Therefore by 11 March if no more cases have occurred in Northern Ireland this one outbreak will have been contained by the cordon of non movement around the farm . All the farmers in Northern Ireland and Britain are protecting their private property by not allowing any unnecessary access to their farms (even by the postman) and putting down disinfectant barriers. We are taking these precautions at Pheasants Hill to protect our own rare-breed livestock. All out guests drive over disinfectant mats on entering at the gate, and in addition disinfect their shoes when leaving their car. In broader terms all the National Trust properties in UK & Northern Ireland are closed to the public, as are the zoos, public parks, race meetings, large sports events etc. Walking in the country in general and on farm land in general is being discouraged as this could spread the disease eg in the national parks in Britain to herds of wild animals , which would then have to be culled. In France and Belgium all movement of livestock is stopped for a limited period as there have been outbreaks of the disease there. In UK and N Ireland livestock can be moved from unaffected areas providing a licence has been issued. Disinfectant procedures apply to cars when leaving an affected area (eg leaving UK) or entering N Ireland and Republic of Ireland which are in disease terms relatively unaffected. <BR>Hope this helps. <BR>

Cathy-Thank you very much for the information. I feel terrible for what is going on--I hope that this outbreak doesn't cause too many hardships for too many people. Thanks again, Erin

Erin, <BR>Ireland is thankfully F&M free and the public are getting restless with all the cancellations and restrictions but the Government is promising that life will return to some level of normality as long as no case of F&M breaks out here in the coming weeks. There are several web sites that my help you decide on your plans. For updates check out www.ireland.com and www.ireland.travel.ie - this is the Irish Tourist Board site and it lists what is open and closed. Walking in the countryside is still one of the activities that is restricted and will remain so as long as the F&M outbreak continues in the UK and it is showing no signs of abating at the moment but there wasn't the war footing and closure of everything in the UK as there was in Ireland. Agriculture plays a major part in the economy of the country. All the sheep imported from the UK and NI (legally and illegally) have been destroyed (those sheep your B&B lady mentioned were slaughtered. While people travelling into the country have all meat products takens and destroyed. Hope this helps, <BR> <BR>Cathy

Just listening to the news. They now found it spreading into France and it looks like it may be in Italy as well

I just read on the BBC website (www.bbc.co.uk) that it has also been found in Argentina. The USDA has posted new regulations and guidelines for travellers on their website www.usda.gov.

Hoof and mouth affects the animals and not humans. It "wastes" the animals and makes them sick and not able to be sold in market. <BR> <BR>Mad Cow is another story. My cousin has a farm in Ireland. With stringent government regulation, last year one of his cows was found to have the disease and his entire herd was slaughtered to prevent spread of the disease. He, of course, was compensated for his monetary loss. <BR> <BR>My feeling as to both diseases is that it will raise prices for all animal products in restaurants in Europe for the average consumer. I vacationed in IReland in August of 2000 and ate beef without worry. <BR> <BR>I believe most frequent travelers are fatalistic (myself included). We fly long distances to strange places and trust a lot because we are curious. If it's our time, then it's our time.

topping, this has some excellent info.