Region declared FMD-free
The East Midlands in Britain was today pronounced ‘‘foot-and-mouth free’’ by government vets.
The news, from the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, came after Leicestershire became the final county in the region to get ‘‘free’’ status.
There have been 15 confirmed cases of the disease in the region, the first being on February 27 at Wooton in Northamptonshire and the last at Ashby de la Zouch on April 23.
As well as confirmed cases there have been a number of suspected outbreaks, all of which has seen a total of 20,377 animals being slaughtered.
A spokesman for DEFRA said today: ‘‘This is good news for the region and should assist local farmers to start to recover from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease in this area.
‘‘All movements of animals still require a licence.’’
For the first time since the start of the outbreak movements of livestock, other than to slaughter, will be permitted for commercial reasons.
To qualify for today’s ‘‘free’’ status, the region had to be clear of confirmed foot-and-mouth outbreaks for three months.
The final death tolls for each UK county, as of today, were: Derbyshire 3,981, Leicestershire 4,202, Northamptonshire 4,304, Nottinghamshire 179 and Lincolnshire 7,711.
