The Northern Ireland Executive has asked people from England, Scotland and Wales not to make unessential trips to the North in an effort to curb the threat of foot-and-mouth disease.
In a statement yesterday following an emergency session of the Executive, people in the North were also asked not to travel in large numbers to events in Britain, including the Six Nations Rugby Championship match in Murrayfield on April 7th between Ireland and Scotland.
To date one case of the disease has been confirmed, in south Armagh. A spokesman for the North's Department of Agriculture said yesterday no further suspect cases had emerged. The Executive requested all sporting, cultural and social events likely to attract people from rural areas to be postponed, but events in urban areas, which did not involve people travelling from Britain, could proceed.
Public amenities in rural areas, including tourist attractions, have been requested to close but parks in urban areas can remain open.
Farmers have "primary responsibility" and have been asked to keep movement on and off farms to an "absolute minimum" and observe hygiene measures, the Executive noted.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the North's Minister for Agriculture, Mrs Brid Rodgers, appealed to the organisers of an ice hockey Challenge Cup game between Sheffield and Ayr to call the fixture off. Last weekend the Belfast Giants proceeded with two home games despite calls to cancel the fixtures.
Mrs Rodgers stressed she did not wish to enact emergency powers, granted to her under animal health legislation, to cancel the game. However, there was speculation last night she was prepared to ban the game. "We would ask them to put their own commercial interests aside, as has the IRFU, as has the GAA, as have most other sporting organisations," she said.
The chief executive of the ice hockey Super League, Mr Ian Taylor, said the fixture would go ahead unless the Ministry of Agriculture in London advised otherwise.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has postponed its annual ardfheis because of foot-and-mouth concerns and will instead hold a half-day conference for Dublin members and the party leadership this weekend.
The party chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, said plans for the conference would be tailored to requests made by the Department of Agriculture.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, will make a keynote address at the event.