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December 20, 2004
Santa in contravention of EU livestock protection law
The Department for Forestry, Rural Affairs, and Agriculture is to prosecute Santa for crossing the UK borders with livestock which has not been innoculated or quarantined. Since the BSE or "Mad Cow" crisis and that last outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the UK, and the debacles caused by the delays in dealing with the outbreaks - or in acknowledging the scale of the problems - Defra has been very sensitive to the risk of importing any more damaging diseases.
A spokesperson stated that Santa's reindeer are known to be suceptible to several parasitic and fungal or viral infestations. Among these is a fungal/parasitic infestation which attacks the mucosa and external skin of the animal's nose, causing it to go red. One of Santa's reindeer is known to be a carrier of this fungal infection, and there is a serious risk of its being transmitted to the red deer herds native to Britain. They are also known to visit parts of the world where Anthrax and other serious illnesses are endemic. It would be a requirement for the reindeer to be quarantined as soon as they landed in the UK, and the normal quarantine period is for a minimum of six months.
She felt that it would not be in the best interests of the UK farming industry or the natural fauna to make any allowances for anyone, and, Santa being a particularly high profile case, it might help to get the message across to anyone else tempted to break the law.
Posted by The Gray Monk at December 20, 2004 10:07 AM