Yecheon Overcomes Foot-and-Mouth Disease Crisis... Movement Restrictions Lifted After Two Months

All Farms Meet Pre-Inspection Criteria
Crisis Alert Downgraded, Transition to Ongoing Preventive Quarantine

Yecheon County in North Gyeongsang Province has effectively concluded the emergency quarantine system against foot-and-mouth disease, which had been in place for nearly two months.

With all movement restrictions on cloven-hoofed animal farms within the quarantine zone fully lifted, local livestock farmers are now beginning to gradually return to normal operations.

On August 27, Yecheon County announced it had downgraded the foot-and-mouth disease crisis alert from "severe" to "watch," and fully lifted movement restrictions on all cloven-hoofed animal farms within the quarantine area.

Yecheon County, Full Lift of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Movement Restrictions, Efforts Pay Off in Thorough Prevention
On-Site Inspection of Prevention Measures (Byeongyun Ahn, Yecheon County Governor (first from left), Hyungdong Kim, Member of the National Assembly (second from left), Sanghyun Park, Director of Economic Agriculture and Forestry Bureau)
Photo by Yecheon County

This measure was taken after conducting thorough inspections and release tests on farms within the quarantine zone, with all farms meeting the criteria required for lifting quarantine restrictions.

Previously, on July 3, foot-and-mouth disease was detected at a livestock farm in Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon. The county government immediately designated an area within a 500-meter radius of the outbreak as a management zone and a 3-kilometer radius as a protection zone, imposing movement restrictions on livestock, related vehicles, and equipment associated with cloven-hoofed animal farms in those areas.

Notably, when the crisis alert was raised to "severe," the local disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters was activated, and an emergency response system was launched to prevent further spread. The county focused its administrative resources on onsite responses such as management of the quarantine area, farm disinfection, and movement control, placing top priority on stopping additional outbreaks.

Although the lifting of movement restrictions represents a major milestone after nearly two months of emergency quarantine, officials stress that vigilance remains essential and quarantine efforts will not be relaxed.

Going forward, the county plans to continue rigorous oversight of local cloven-hoofed animal farms, including guiding and inspecting compliance with basic quarantine rules, such as internal and external farm disinfection and control of livestock vehicle access.

In addition to preventing a recurrence of foot-and-mouth disease, the county will also maintain a constant response system to defend against malignant livestock infectious diseases that could be transmitted from overseas.

The lifting of movement restrictions is viewed as more than just an administrative measure; it is seen as the outcome of swift quarantine actions from the onset of the outbreak and close cooperation from livestock farmers, both of which were crucial in preventing further spread. However, as livestock infectious diseases could recur at any time, the challenge ahead is to transition emergency quarantine achievements into consistent, farm-level preventative measures.

Yecheon County, Full Lifting of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Movement Restrictions Achieved, Result of Intensive Quarantine Efforts Quarantine Activity Vehicle
Photo by Yecheon County

Assemblyman Hyungdong Kim commented on the lifting of movement restrictions, stating, "Thanks to the hard work of livestock farmers and quarantine personnel in the field, we were able to minimize further damage to the local livestock industry by preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. As the end of movement restrictions does not mark the end of quarantine, we must continue to strengthen our ongoing disease prevention systems to avoid a recurrence."

He added, "To enable livestock farmers to focus on their livelihoods with peace of mind, we will reinforce quarantine support from the government and relevant agencies, and at the National Assembly level, we will carefully establish institutional support measures to prevent livestock infectious diseases and ensure the management stability of livestock farms."

Yecheon County Governor Byungyoon Ahn expressed his gratitude, saying, "I would like to deeply thank the livestock farmers who endured inconvenience and the personnel who protected the field by cooperating with the quarantine measures for nearly two months. Although movement restrictions have been lifted, quarantine continues. Therefore, we will thoroughly maintain farm-level quarantine to block the recurrence of foot-and-mouth disease and prevent the introduction of malignant livestock infectious diseases from abroad."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.