FMD restrictions lifted in UK
British government vets have lifted tight foot-and-mouth restrictions on Northumberland farmers after completing extensive blood sampling of bloodstock.
From today the whole of the county was no longer under Infected Area restrictions.
Newcastle Disease Emergency Control Centre’s divisional veterinary manager Arthur Griffiths said: ‘‘All our hard work is now paying off.
‘‘This is tremendous news for both the farming community and everyone who loves the countryside and its attractions.’’
Regional operations director Keith Raine said: ‘‘The region’s farmers need to get back to business as soon as possible and this announcement should go a long way to reassuring people that all the effort expended to beat foot-and-mouth disease has been worth it.’’
The restrictions which have been lifted affected Northumberland 828 farms, where movement of animals and hygiene conditions were closely monitored.
The only remaining restrictions in the region now affect a small part of South West Durham around the River Tees which lies within a closely-monitored surveillance zone around Penrith, Cumbria.
