September 20, 2007

UK government imposes foot-and-mouth control zone in West Midlands

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has imposed a temporary control zone in the Solihull area of the English West Midlands due to a suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease, Defra said on its Web site Wednesday (September 19).

The measure means a ban on livestock movements within a three-kilometre radius of the site.

Previous outbreaks of the disease this year have been over 100 miles away in the southern English county of Surrey.

Foot-and-mouth disease affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, sheep, pigs and goats. UK authorities have moved swiftly to contain the outbreaks this summer, fearing a repeat of a major 2001 flare-up that saw 7 million animals slaughtered and locked British meat out of world markets for months.