| ■ Japan foot-and-mouth outbreak infects top stud bull | 2010.05.21 |
| TOKYO (AFP) - One of Japan's most prized stud bulls has been infected with foot-and-mouth disease, the government said Saturday, as the country's first outbreak in a decade continues to devastate livestock. The discovery was a blow to the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, which evacuated the region's six top seed bulls, including the affected animal, to a special facility to keep them away from the disease, which has hit more than 100 farms in the area. The highly contagious virus has brought to a halt all Japanese beef and pork exports for the past month and crippled the premium beef industry in Miyazaki. The six bulls are the only remaining breeding animals for the highly sought-after "Miyazaki beef", as the foot-and-mouth outbreak which began last month has forced the cull of 49 other seed bulls in the prefecture. Between them, the six bulls accounted for some 90 percent of artificial breeding in the prefecture, Kyodo News said. |