FOOT-AND-MOUTH BAN LIFTED FOR NETHERLANDS, NORTHERN IRELAND, JAPAN

FOOT-AND-MOUTH BAN LIFTED FOR NETHERLANDS, NORTHERN IRELAND, JAPAN    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has added the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Japan to its list of countries considered free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease.
   “This change in disease status relieves certain prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of ruminants and swine, fresh meat and other products into the United States,” the agency said.
   However, these countries will be monitored closely by APHIS because of their proximity to or trading practices with rinderpest and FMD-infected areas.
   The Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Japan also remain subject to U.S. import restrictions associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease,” APHIS said.