UK: Swine fever crisis recedes

UK agriculture minister Nick Brown is set to release nearly 200 pig farms from animal movement restrictions imposed following the outbreak of swine fever earlier this month. Much to farmers' relief, the European Union partially lifted its import ban on live English pigs and pig semen earlier this week, although animals reared in three counties are still subject to the ban.Meanwhile, debate rages on about the level of compensation that should be given to farmers affected by the outbreak. While Brown has pledged to proceed with two schemes offering compensation to struggling farmers, shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo called on the minister to consider also the interests of farmers in the surveillance zone whose swine herds did not succumb to the sickness, but which nevertheless may not be sold because of their proximity to infected farms.To find out more about Swine Fever