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Foot and Mouth
20/09/2007
Farmers in Scotland will now be able to move animals up to eight kilometres within a single farm business.
The relaxation, which takes immediate effect, comes in the wake of completion of direct tracings of animal movements from Surrey. A further relaxation also allows direct movement of pigs for husbandry purposes within 50 or 100 kilometres.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead said:
"I know these announcements will be welcomed by farmers and the wider livestock industry who have shown great patience and understanding over recent weeks. It will ease animal welfare concerns and allow them to get on with the business of managing their farms and livestock.
"It is essential that we had the final results of the direct tracings - so that the risk could be fully assessed.
"The number one priority must be to protect Scotland from this dreadful disease.
"We were able to quickly roll back restrictions in August ahead of the rest of Great Britain. This outbreak is still in its early stage but we will continue to make further relaxations as soon as it is safe to do so.
"Tracing work continues to be carried out by the Scottish expert group EPIC to identify indirect movements which may pose a risk to Scotland."
Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne said:
"The ongoing work by EPIC is critically important. We cannot take risks at this stage which will put the entire Scottish livestock industry in jeopardy but we will move as fast as we can - based on the science and proper veterinary risk assessment."
The Scottish Government Foot and Mouth helpline number is 08451 553366.
The licence for movement of pigs allows animals to be moved within 50 kilometres where there are other FMD susceptible animals on the farm premises or 100 kilometres where there are not.
The Epidemiology Population Health and Infectious Disease Control (EPIC), is unique Scottish science collaboration between university vet schools and research institutes in Scotland. Set up in 2006 with £2.5 million funding from the Scottish Government over five years, it seeks to develop new tools to track and control animal diseases.