France on Tuesday reported its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in a cattle farm in the western department of Mayenne, the ministry of agriculture said Tuesday.
The outbreak is the first on the European mainland since the disease appeared in Britain on February 19.
All cattle on the farm were slaughtered overnight and were to be incinerated Tuesday, the ministry said.
Earlier Tuesday, officials had warned that they had "serious suspicions" over six cattle in a herd at La Barouche-Gondouin, which were showing all the symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease.
The herd had been kept opposite another herd imported from Britain, which was slaughtered at the beginning of March as part of a series of precautionary measures carried out by French authorities.
The area around the farm has been sealed off -- PARIS (AFP)
