Northern Ireland authorities have suspended post-Brexit checks on animal products and withdrawn workers from two ports after threats against border staff.

Inspections have been stopped at Belfast and Larne ports "in the interests of the wellbeing of staff," the Northern Ireland government said on Tuesday.

Mark McEwan, assistant chief constable of the Northern Ireland police, said the force had increased patrols "in order to reassure staff and the local community."

Graffiti has recently appeared in the Larne area, 20 miles northeast of Belfast, referring to post-Brexit tensions over Northern Ireland and calling port staff "targets."

Local mayor Peter Johnston said there had been "deeply troubling graffiti and a very notable upping of community tensions."

Since the UK left the EU at the end of 2020, customs and veterinary checks have been imposed on goods moving between Britain and the bloc. Under the divorce terms there are also checks on British goods going to Northern Ireland, because it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland – an EU member.

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An open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in the region. With Britain out of the EU, the only way to avoid checks along that border was to keep Northern Ireland bound to some of the EU's rules – and that means checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

That decision is opposed by pro-British Unionist politicians, who say it amounts to a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Police have warned that violent British Loyalist groups could capitalize on the tensions.

The sensitivity of Northern Ireland's status was underscored last week by the alarm sparked by the EU's threat to ban shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland as part of moves to shore up the bloc's supply. 

It would have drawn a hard border on the island of Ireland — exactly the scenario the Brexit deal was crafted to avoid. British, Irish and Northern Ireland politicians all expressed concern at the plan, and the EU dropped the idea.