A ban on the export of livestock and meat-based products from Northern Ireland to the EU has been reintroduced following the discovery of two new cases of foot-and-mouth.
The NI Agriculture Minister, Ms Brid Rodgers, said the North had lost its disease-free status which had distinguished it from the rest of the UK.
"It goes without saying that this is a huge setback for the whole of Northern Ireland's agriculture industry and comes just at a time when our hopes were high we might have escaped this dreadful scourge," she said.
The EU's veterinary committee had lifted an embargo two weeks ago on exports from the North, except for Co Armagh where the first case was discovered. Ms Rodgers said a new "fortress" regime was now in place. She urged farmers to seal off their land and halt all animal movements.
"Can I make it absolutely clear that the situation is now extremely serious?" she told a news conference at her department headquarters in east Belfast yesterday.
The Northern Ireland chief veterinary officer, Mr Bob McCracken, confirmed that none of the cases had been due to wind-borne infection, but said the source was still being investigated. He added: "The virus has got on to these three premises through the gate or over the hedge."
Mr McCracken said controlling it would be "through the sealing-off of every farm in Northern Ireland if we are to stop similar cases".
The latest outbreak was confirmed yesterday near Cushendall, Co Antrim. It was identified less than two days after a case in Ardboe, Co Tyrone.
The only other instance of foot-and-mouth in the North was six weeks ago in a flock of sheep at Meigh, south Armagh.
Responding to the outbreak in Co Tyrone on Saturday, Ms Rodgers announced a cull of 4,000 cattle, after holding emergency meetings with veterinary officials and rural representatives.
The British army provided support in disposing of the carcasses of animals slaughtered in the culls.
Meanwhile, the Apprentice Boys announced the cancellation of a march planned for today, which would have marked the start of the marching season.
"The Apprentice Boys have made a decision because of foot-and-mouth disease here, especially in north-west" Northern Ireland, said Mr Alastair Simpson, governor of the Protestant order. It had been feared that the march, to have taken place along a route in Belfast that passes through a mainly Catholic area, could have led to violence.
The EU's ban on exports from Co Armagh was to have expired this Thursday, along with a ban on exports from Co Louth, where the Republic's only case has been confirmed.
The Department of Agriculture confirmed yesterday it would be seeking the lifting of the ban for Louth despite the latest developments in the North. "We are a separate entity and fully expect trade restrictions to be lifted on Thursday," said a spokesman.
The Irish Farmers' Association said it supported the Department's position and trade in animal produce from the Louth exclusion zone should be allowed to resume.
The Republic is one of three affected EU member-states which have been granted regional status, whereby the ban on exports has been confined to a certain area within the state. The others are Holland and France.
