The West Midlands has been included in the protection zone to stop the spread of bluetongue disease.

The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) extended the zone following two outbreaks of the disease in Cambridgeshire and Kent. Livestock cannot be moved outside the zone, apart from being taken to approved slaughter houses, Defra said. The regional National Farmers Union (NFU) said it was a “bitter blow” which would have financial implications. Bluetongue is a non-contagious virus spread by a midge species, affecting ruminants including sheep and cattle. A Defra spokeswoman said the protection zone was extended in line with EU policy and now included “wide swathes” of England.
The zone had previously been in place from Lincolnshire down to East Sussex. An NFU spokesman said the protection zone now included all of the West Midlands region, apart from north-west Shropshire. He said it would affect farmers in a number of ways and was likely to hit their pockets. Farmers would be prevented from taking animals to prominent markets such as Builth Wells in Wales, he said. He added there were “no implications for human health or food safety issues” arising from the disease. Farmers from other areas of England will not be able to come to markets and buy and sell livestock in the region. NFU regional director David Collier said the union had vowed to fight the disease.
“The NFU will continue to help farmers fight bluetongue but this is a bitter blow for our members,” he said. “Many will feel kicked in the teeth following what has been an awful couple of months for the industry.” Two stricter control zones were also announced by Defra on Wednesday 17.10.07.
A total of 43 confirmed premises have been affected by bluetongue disease and these are mainly in the Ipswich area and in Essex near Lowestoft. (source BBC)
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Posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 10:00 am and filed under Website, Press Release.

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