Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rosselchosnadsor) has banned the import of meat from the European Union due to the risk of the mouth and foot disease (MKS). On Friday, the supervisory authority announced that the import and transit of products through Russian territory to third countries will be prohibited from January 20.
The embargo was imposed after a recent outbreak of MKS in a water buffalo herd in the German town of Hönow, the first reported case in over 35 years. Since then, authorities in Germany have set up a three-kilometer quarantine zone and a 10-kilometer surveillance zone.
MKS is a highly contagious viral disease affecting animals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Symptoms include fever, wounds, blisters, and a lack of appetite or mobility. Infected animals are often slaughtered to contain the outbreak.
The discovery of the outbreak has led several countries, including Australia, Argentina, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico, to ban the import of meat from Germany.
Within the European Union, Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Poland have tightened border controls.
According to Rosselchosnadsor, the measures taken by the European Commission to contain the spread of the disease are “insufficient.”
The Russian supervisory authority attributed the appearance of the disease in Germany to the “uncontrolled” transportation of cattle and animal products from Ukraine to the EU.
According to Rosselchosnadsor, the most likely route the virus took was through Turkey to Ukraine and then to Germany. Investigations by the national reference laboratory and the EU reference laboratory confirmed that the virus belongs to the MKS serotype O, which was first detected in Turkey in December 2024.
“This is extremely alarming, considering that there is practically no veterinary service on Ukrainian territory” Rosselchosnadsor stated, pointing out that European and Ukrainian media had previously reported on the discovery of fraudulent machinations for the smuggling of various goods, including agricultural products, at the Odessa port.
German farmers have expressed concern that the MKS outbreak could result in significant costs for them. The Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the region stated on Thursday that the agricultural and food industry is likely to have lost around one billion euros in revenue due to the outbreak of the disease.