Airport protest on illegal imports

21 August 2001



Airport protest on illegal imports

By FWi staff

FARMERS will gather at Gatwick airport on Thursday (23 August) to highlight concerns about controls on food imports in the wake of foot-and-mouth.

The group will target travellers leaving the country for the August Bank Holiday and people returning from their summer holidays.

Substandard illegal imports are widely believed to be the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak which has swept the country.

Farmers are worried that travellers are in the dark about what animal and plant products they can and cant bring back into the UK.

They claim that controls at ports of entry are not being effectively enforced, leaving the UK vulnerable to animal and plant diseases.

The producers will hand out leaflets and carry placards calling for more resources to check imports and educate travellers.

Four cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed in Cumbria since Sunday (19 August) night, taking the UK total to 1964.

• BBC denies pressure over bushmeat, FWi, 17 August 2001
• BA keeps tabs on its flights, FWi, 30 March 2001
• Warning of bush meat time bomb, FWi, 25 March 2001