Scots farmers face wait on foot-and-mouth news
Farmers across Scotland have been told they will have to wait until Tuesday to learn if foot-and-mouth disease has crossed the border.
Preliminary tests at a farm in Aberdeenshire, where the British State Veterinary Service has been taking samples, have not so far uncovered any cases of the infection, raising hopes that it had escaped the outbreak.
The Scottish Executive has responded cautiously to the initial tests while the National Farmers' Union of Scotland warned that the agricultural industry is 'not yet out of the woods'.
Banks Farm, near Fyvie, was sealed off yesterday as samples were taken for laboratory analysis after several young animals were detected as lame. Farmers believed the injuries may have been caused by recent bad weather in the area.
The full scale of the devastation caused by the disease was brought home as thousands of pigs and cattle were ordered to be slaughtered on eight farms in England.
The British Government has imposed a seven-day ban on livestock movements across the UK and people have been urged to avoid travelling into or out of the countryside this weekend.
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said of the Aberdeenshire tests: "We're obviously still very concerned about the situation, but no news is good news."
Jim Walker, president of the National Farmers' Union Scotland, said: "There is still a huge amount of tracing work to be done on other farms around the country.
"We are now beginning to assess the serious knock-on effects this crisis will have on the whole meat and livestock industry in Scotland - even if movement restrictions are lifted at the end of the week.
"The cost will be felt on farms throughout Scotland long after the headlines have left the front pages."
