Two more cases of foot-and-mouth
25 February 2001
Two more cases of foot-and-mouth
by FWi staff
FOOT-AND-MOUTH disease has been confirmed at two farms in south-west England, meaning the disease has now spread the length and breadth of Britain.
Ministry of Agriculture officials said the disease had been found in cattle at a farm in Beaworthy, near Okehampton, north Devon, on Sunday (25 February).
The disease was later confirmed in a cattle and sheep farm at Highampton.
The farmer there runs 13 premises, 11 in Devon and two in the neighbouring county of Cornwall, all of which will now be inspected by government vets.
The news is a major blow to one of Britains biggest livestock areas and means that efforts to contain the disease have so far effectively failed.
Seven confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth have now been discovered since
The governments chief veterinary officer Jim Scudamore said he believed that the Highampton farmer was involved in sheep exports to Europe.
However, no animals have been moved off the farm since the government banned all livestock movements in Britain on Friday (23 February).
It remains unclear whether either of the Devon cases are linked to the Northumberland pig fattening unit thought to be the source of the outbreak.
Experts are also examining the possibility of a second suspected case near the Devon farm and two more possible cases in Northumberland.
Preparations for the incineration of hundreds of animals are continuing on Burnside Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Richard Drummond, the Ministry of Agricultures head of Veterinary Services for the northern region, urged farmers to remain vigilant at all times.
It was preferable for farmers to report all suspect cases of the disease at the earliest opportunity rather than wait until later, he said.
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