010316 Britain's Foot-and-Mouth Crisis Spreads

London - Dolly the cloned sheep was put into quarantine and Ireland canceled its annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations as the tentacles of Britain's foot- and-mouth crisis spread wider on Friday at home and abroad.

Seven new cases of the highly contagious animal disease were announced and police ringed 15 suspect farms in Ireland, while nations from Asia to Europe tightened restrictions on food imports and travelers from Britain.

Weekend sporting events including racing, soccer and rugby, were either canceled or restricted in Britain.

But in a bid to get the food chain going again after livestock movements across the country had been banned, the government announced it would allow limited transport and slaughter of animals, although strict conditions would apply.

Walks in the country have been virtually banned as part of measures to halt a disease whose last major outbreak in Britain was in 1967.

Ireland's cancellation of its March 17 St. Patrick's Day celebrations, an annual tourist bonanza that attracts 1.3 million people to the streets of the capital, graphically illustrated the scale of the precautions the Irish are taking.

In Britain, the first cracks appeared in the united front so far presented in the 10-day-old crisis as Prime Minister Tony Blair blasted supermarkets for strong-arming farmers into producing cheap meat, jeopardizing quality standards.

Sheep, cattle and pig meat began to run out at British butchers and supermarkets because of bans on movement of animals to abattoirs. Efforts were under way to rush in stocks from overseas suppliers in Europe and New Zealand.

Buyers at meat markets forecast that prices could rise by up to 40% in the coming week.

The disease, which is not a threat to humans, is spread from animal to animal as well as through the air, on people's clothes or by vehicles. It causes blisters on the hooves and in the mouths of animals, leading to severe weight loss.

No Special Treatment For Dolly

Nothing symbolized how the crisis has turned large swathes of the British countryside into "no-go" areas more than the decision to put Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, into quarantine on her Scottish farm.

"She is in her own accommodation in special housing," said Harry Griffin, a member of the team which cloned Dolly at Edinburgh's Roslin Institute in 1996.

Tens of thousands of animals in Britain and Europe have been destroyed or earmarked for slaughter by government health officials in line with policy to halt the spread of the disease.

Britain's agriculture ministry said cases of foot-and-mouth had been found at new locations in England and Scotland, bringing the number of affected premises to 39.

The disease has spread from England to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland after the first cases were found among pigs at an English farm 10 days ago.

In a sign of how difficult it is to track the disease, the ministry said so far up to 70,000 animals alone had been identified as having contact with the contaminated locations.

Irish authorities sealed off 15 farms in counties Louth and Monaghan close to the border with the British province of Northern Ireland as part of their precautionary measures.

Fear Of Possible Contact

Animals on the farms might have come in contact with infected livestock in Northern Ireland.

Irish Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh said there was no foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland but authorities were taking strict measures to prevent its spread across the border.

"We are treating the whole situation as if we had a foot-and-mouth problem," he told reporters at Dundalk, near the frontier.

Food and live animal exports were valued at some five billion Irish pounds ($5.9 billion) last year -- around 10% of Ireland's total export receipts.

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said the crisis was the biggest threat to Ireland in a generation.

France banned imports of Irish livestock as a precaution against the disease, and suspended all fairs and markets for animals at risk of infection.

Staff at airports around the world asked travelers arriving from Britain whether they were carrying any meat products. Some even insisted visitors walk through disinfectant foot baths. Cars arriving at European ports were also disinfected.

In Britain, supermarket chains criticized the prime minister for saying on Thursday they had farmers in an "armlock."

"If he (Blair) wants to play politics and scrabble around looking for scapegoats, that's down to him. This is a very serious crisis for farming and we're all focused on working night and day to keep meat available in our stores for customers," a statement from supermarket chain Asda said.

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