London — An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has swept the United Kingdom spread to France on Sunday, where the agricultural minister said some sheep imported from Britain tested positive for the highly contagious ailment.
The disease was also found at a huge national park in southwest England, officials said Sunday, while Belgium shut down its two largest zoos and Denmark quarantined seven farms in a bid to ward off the livestock disease.
Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany, speaking in an interview with France-Info radio from Montreal, said tests of slaughtered sheep in France "show that these animals were in contact with the malady but were not necessarily carriers of the malady."
The Agriculture Ministry said nine herds were involved in the testing, including three in the Oise region just north of Paris and one in suburban Seine-Saint-Denis. Three herds in the Cher region in central France also were among those tested.
A farm near Saint-Etienne, in southeast France, was placed under quarantine on Saturday after a herd of sheep imported from Britain tested positive. Results on a second set of tests were to be available today.
In Britain and Northern Ireland, 69 separate outbreaks have been reported. About 45,000 animals sheep, cows and pigs have been destroyed in an effort to stop the ailment from spreading. Agriculture officials said 8,000 more animals will be destroyed.
An outbreak at a farm inside Dartmoor National Park raised fears that wildlife could spread the disease to other livestock. Hiking and horseback riding have been restricted on the moor, where about 46,000 cattle and sheep graze.
The affected farm is part of the Duchy of Cornwall land that is Prince Charles' royal heritage and provides his income. It is run by his tenant, Roger Winsor.
"We are very sorry for the tenant concerned, and our thoughts are with him and all other farmers at this difficult time," a spokesman for the Duchy said.
Since the first cases were discovered Feb. 19 at a slaughterhouse in southern England, authorities have banned exports of British milk, meat and live animals. At outbreak sites, herds are being destroyed, with pyres of carcasses burning around the clock.
Mainland European countries have destroyed thousands of animals imported from Britain before the export ban took effect. France last week began destroying 50,000 sheep imported from Britain as a precaution.
The first suspected foot-and-mouth cases outside the United Kingdom were reported last week in northern Belgium. Authorities closed Belgium's two biggest zoos Sunday while awaiting test results on three pigs found with blisters on their snouts, a symptom of the disease.
British agriculture officials say the spread of the disease may begin to slow.
"What we have not seen is a lot of lateral spread from infected premises to premises around them, or a lot of airborne spread," said Richard Cawthorne, Britain's deputy chief veterinary officer.
"Though the outbreak has spread across the country, it is in pockets where sheep may have mixed in markets and spread it."
If current restrictions continue to hold and there are no secondary outbreaks, the number of afflicted areas could drop by next week, Cawthorne said.
Farmers in Britain on Sunday began restricted movement of livestock unafflicted by the disease, under a special permit system.
But officials warned against other rural movement by people or animals, criticizing animal rights activists who staged a protest march near farmland Sunday.
A group of about 70 activists gathered outside the headquarters of pharmaceutical group Huntingdon Life Sciences in Huntingdon, 70 miles north of London. Farmers, government officials and police said the group should have postponed its protest against animal testing because they could have spread the virus.
Officials also said a man found injured Saturday night after hiking in a restricted park in north Wales could face a fine of $7,300.
It is extremely difficult to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which infects cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, cows and pigs. The virus can be carried for miles by the wind, people, clothes or cars, surviving for lengthy periods on boots and clothing.
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