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Foot-and-mouth tests 'positive' | Foot-and-mouth tests 'positive' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Blood tests on sheep on a Surrey farm suggest exposure to foot-and-mouth disease, officials have said. | Blood tests on sheep on a Surrey farm suggest exposure to foot-and-mouth disease, officials have said. |
Preliminary tests were undertaken at the premises within the protection zone near to the latest outbreak. | Preliminary tests were undertaken at the premises within the protection zone near to the latest outbreak. |
A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the farm's livestock would be slaughtered and further tests made. | A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the farm's livestock would be slaughtered and further tests made. |
Initial tests on pigs culled on another farm proved negative. Full results will be released on Tuesday. | |
The pigs were on a farm near two premises infected by foot-and-mouth and were culled as a precaution. | The pigs were on a farm near two premises infected by foot-and-mouth and were culled as a precaution. |
'Utterly devastating' | 'Utterly devastating' |
Prof Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of microbiology at the University of Aberdeen, said the possible new outbreak would delay efforts to wipe out the disease. | Prof Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of microbiology at the University of Aberdeen, said the possible new outbreak would delay efforts to wipe out the disease. |
"It just puts back the day we can declare this is over," he said. | "It just puts back the day we can declare this is over," he said. |
Shadow Defra secretary Peter Ainsworth said the news was "disturbing". | Shadow Defra secretary Peter Ainsworth said the news was "disturbing". |
"All of us, especially in the farming community, have been hoping that the outbreak is now over. | |
I'm so disappointed that it has all broken out again Derrick Pride, Surrey farmer hit by last month's outbreak | |
"It was caused by negligence by the government and its agencies. We have to hope that the government will now be competent in dealing with the clean-up," he said. | |
Farmer Derrick Pride, from Elstead, Surrey, had his herd slaughtered in the August outbreak of foot-and-mouth. | Farmer Derrick Pride, from Elstead, Surrey, had his herd slaughtered in the August outbreak of foot-and-mouth. |
"It's utterly devastating," he said. | "It's utterly devastating," he said. |
"I don't know how you can take it really. I'm so disappointed that it has all broken out again." | "I don't know how you can take it really. I'm so disappointed that it has all broken out again." |
Transport ban | |
The restrictions on movement that followed the latest outbreak have affected farmers across the whole of the country. | |
In the Yorkshire Dales, a two-day annual lamb auction - one of the biggest in Britain - was cancelled due to animal movement restrictions. | |
The event usually sees £2m exchange hands and is the biggest pay day in the calendar for about 500 local farmers. | The event usually sees £2m exchange hands and is the biggest pay day in the calendar for about 500 local farmers. |
Zones are imposed around places where outbreaks have been confirmed and related sitesEnlarge Map | Zones are imposed around places where outbreaks have been confirmed and related sitesEnlarge Map |
However, organisers of the Masham Sheep Fair, in North Yorkshire, have said they will go ahead with their event on the 29 and 30 September, despite foot-and-mouth restrictions meaning sheep cannot be taken there. | |
On Saturday, the government's chief vet lifted a ban on farmers across most of England from taking livestock to slaughter. | |
However, livestock can still not be traded or moved for any other reason. | |
A full ban on any movement remains in place in the surveillance zone around the two infected sites in Surrey. | |
A 3km (1.8-mile) protection zone has been set up around the farmland, with a 10km (6.2-mile) surveillance zone encircling it. |