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Know How / Foot and mouth

Foot and mouth has not seen a major outbreak in the UK since 2001 when 6.5 million animals were slaughtered to control the disease. Read archive material from the 2001 outbreak and the 2007 when the virus escaped from the Pirbright laboratory.

Advice and tips

LIVESTOCK

What foot and mouth zones really mean

Forget trying to keep track of DEFRA's chopping and changing disease restriction zones. Stephen Carr explains what they are really about. You may have found the latest DEFRA announcements concerning…

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News

FOOT AND MOUTH

Germany declared FMD free, UK lifts trade restrictions

Great Britain has officially recognised Germany as free from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) without vaccination, following a technical assessment after a January 2025 outbreak. The declaration, which was confirmed on 14…

FOOT AND MOUTH

UK foot-and-mouth threat level raised to 'medium'

Livestock enterprises have been urged to consider on-farm biosecurity measures, as Defra forecasts an increased risk of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) spreading to Great Britain. Further FMD cases on the Continent…

NEWS

NFU Cymru urges tighter border controls over FMD fears

NFU Cymru has issued a stark warning to the UK government, calling for urgent action to strengthen border controls amid growing fears of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. The Welsh…

NEWS

Austria faces export ban as foot-and-mouth disease spreads

The UK government has enforced a new ban on the import of livestock and related products from Austria, including dairy, due to concerns over the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).…

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Video

Farmyard version of Christmas classic released to raise money fo...

A farmyard version of the song 12 days of Christmas has been recorded in order to raise money for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. Tribute band the Mangledwurzels has released…

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