British farmers dealt a blue tongue blow

Sep 26 2007

The farming industry in Britain has been dealt another blow with the confirmation of another case of blue tongue disease.

This latest case in a Highland cow is the fourth to be detected in the country and has occurred on a farm near Baylham, close to Ipswich in Suffolk where the first two cases occurred.

It is the third premise to be affected and is near where the first two cases occurred on a farm which breeds rare cattle.

The animal will now be culled after testing positive for the blue tongue disease, which is the same strain that killed livestock in Europe.

The virus which is spread by midges, affects cattle, sheep, goats and deer but is not harmful to humans.

The government is under pressure to declare the blue tongue incidents an official outbreak but the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says it is not considered an outbreak because there is no evidence the infected midges are still circulating in the county.

Experts are conducting tests to establish whether there are any signs of the disease spreading.

Since July there have been almost 3,000 cases of blue tongue in Northern Europe.

Meanwhile a new temporary control zone has been established round a premises near Maidenhead, Berkshire, on suspicion of more cases of foot and mouth disease.

DEFRA says the latest control zone, which is inside the existing surveillance zone, is a precautionary measure following possible clinical signs of the disease.

If foot and mouth is confirmed at this latest premises, it will be the first time the disease has spread beyond Surrey since the start of the outbreak in August.

The National Farmers’ Union are taking legal action against the government on behalf of hundreds of farmers affected by the foot and mouth outbreak.

The group are claiming compensation for lost livestock and income and are said to be angry over the damage foot and mouth has done to the industry particularly as it started within the country as a result of inadequate biosecurity and containment measures at a government run lab at Pirbright.