Denmark reports stock disease

Press, 20 March 1982, Page 1

Denmark reports stock disease

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Denmark, the biggest supplier of pork to Japan, yesterday notified Tokyo of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious virus which affects cattle and pigs, said the Japanese Agriculture Ministry. The Tokyo office of the semi-official Danish Agricultural Marketing Board said the disease was discovered in cows on a small island, called Funen. on Thursday, and that a large number- of cattle had already been killed and their bodies buried to prevent the disease from spreading. There were no pigs on the island, a spokesman for the office said, quoting official information from Denmark which was conveyed to the Japanese Ministry. The office and the Japanese Ministry were awaiting further information from Copenhagen. The Ministry said no decision had yet been made on imports of pork from Denmark, which last year totalled 72,146 tonnes, nearly 40 per cent of Japan's pork imports. But the imports would have to be banned if the disease persisted.