Foot and Mouth case confirmed in Surrey – Warwickshire County Council reaction
Warwickshire Trading Standards is again gearing up to deal with this latest Foot and Mouth disease outbreak.
The following action can be confirmed today:
The movement of susceptible livestock has been prohibited from today. Livestock that was in transit at the time that the prohibition was issued should complete the journey & ensure the movement is recorded & notified to Trading Standards as soon as possible. This will help in tracing any livestock that may be suspected to have come into contact with infected animals.
All markets & gatherings of susceptible livestock (primarily sheep, cattle, pigs & other ruminants) are prohibited from today and all events for the foreseeable future are cancelled. Market operators at:
- Stratford on Avon (where a sheep sale was planned Thursday 13/9/07);
- Radbourne Manor Farm nr Southam (where a sheep sale was planned Friday 14/9/07); and
- Rugby Market (weekly market every Monday and a sheep sale planned for Friday 21/9/07)
have been contacted and informed that these events must be cancelled.
TS Enforcement Officers will be carrying out roadchecks to find any illegal movement of livestock and be present at the planned market/event sites to ensure no illegal gatherings or transactions occur.
Trading Standards will be working with the National Farmers Union (NFU) again to ensure information & updates flow to the farming community as quickly as possible.
Mark Ryder, Head of Trading Standards Service said: "The news of a new outbreak is of course devastating for the rural communities. Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service will be working with the NFU, livestock markets and other stakeholders to make sure information about this second outbreak and how it affects the movement of animals is passed on quickly and effectively.
"We will work with other enforcing authorities across the midlands and nationally to ensure that the rules on animal movements are enforced fairly and consistently in Warwickshire. During the last outbreak we were very impressed with the responsible attitude of the farming community as a whole. It is in everyone’s interests to stick to the rules and ensure that this disease is contained."
If you do not have easy or regular access to the internet or you want to speak to someone for advice from the County Council, then call the Animal Health licensing team on 01926 736470, 736471, 736472 or 736475 during normal office hours. Officers will ask farmers for email addresses in order to establish a database of addresses to facilitate the prompt dissemination of information in the future.
Please also keep an eye on the DEFRA or NFU website for updates. See http://www.defra.gov.uk or http://www.nfuonline.com.