EU Livestock Markets Face 2-Week Closure

European Union veterinary experts Tuesday ordered all livestock markets closed for two weeks in the 15-nation bloc in an effort to contain foot-and-mouth disease.

The EU panel said that livestock transport would be allowed between farms and direct to slaughterhouses but that a ban would be imposed on all markets and assembly points for cattle, pigs and sheep.

The panel also extended until March 27 a ban on all exports of meat, livestock and milk products from Britain and said the tires of vehicles arriving from Britain in other EU nations must be disinfected.

The measures will be implemented once they are formally adopted by the European Commission, and that decision is expected in a few days, said Gregor Kreuzhuber, an EU agriculture spokesman.

Although no confirmed cases have been found outside Britain, the restrictions reflect widespread fears that the livestock virus could jump the English Channel and spread through the Continent.

The restrictions were approved despite Britain’s message to the panel that the disease outbreak might be close to peaking.

Several EU nations had pushed for tougher action. Italy demanded a complete ban on all livestock movement across borders within the EU. The veterinary panel, however, said the measures the EU has taken so far had “avoided the spread of the disease” outside Britain.