Latest news with #AnimalPlantHealthAgency
BBC News
21 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Bluetongue: Royal Welsh Show bans English livestock amid outbreak
The Royal Welsh Show is to ban livestock from England from this year's event following the spread of the bluetongue a statement, organisers said they "recognised the growing concern" around the recent Welsh Agricultural Society (RWAS) said livestock entries of animals susceptible to the virus - particularly cattle, sheep and goats - will not be accepted from exhibitors located within a bluetongue virus restricted zone is to be extended to cover the whole of England from 1 July before the annual show in Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells in Powys, on 21-24 serotype 3 (BTV-3), mainly spread by midge bites, does not affect humans or risk food safety. RWAS said it was committed to working with and supporting exhibitors amid the outbreak and is working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Welsh government veterinary team."Our goal is to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place, in line with the most up-to-date guidance," the statement read."That said, we are taking steps to provide clarity based on current guidance, while being transparent that circumstances may evolve before the Royal Welsh Show in July."This policy has been introduced to safeguard the health of livestock exhibited at this year's Royal Welsh Show and to help reduce the risk of bluetongue spreading." The RWAS said:Entries will not be accepted from exhibitors located within a bluetongue restricted who are required to travel through a restricted zone to attend the show will also not be permitted to an exhibitor enters the show but subsequently moves into a restricted zone, they will no longer be eligible to unaffected by bluetongue restrictions will remain subject to the society's general rules and RWAS said the policy could change according to any updates in government policy before the pre-movement testing exemptions apply in England, Scotland and Wales until 12 June when the Welsh government is due to announce an summer, the Royal Welsh Show celebrated 120 years since the annual agricultural show first began. What is bluetongue? Bluetongue does not affect humans and poses no risk to public health or food safetyIn rare instances, however, dogs and other carnivores can contract it if they consume infected substances such as aborted material and affects cattle, goats, sheep, goats, deer and camelids such as llamas and alpacas. The impacts on susceptible animals can vary greatly – but in most cases seen since September 2024 clinical signs have been mild and animals have is classed as a "notifiable" disease, meaning it is an offence not to report it to the of bluetongue in cattle include lethargy, crusty erosions around the nostrils and muzzle, and redness of the mouth, eyes and, sheep, signs include ulcers or sores in the mouth and nose, discharge from the eyes or nose and drooling from mouth, and the swelling of the lips, tongue, head and neck, as well as the coronary band (where the skin of the leg meets the horn of the foot).Other symptoms include red skin as a result of blood collecting beneath the surface, fever, lameness, breathing problems, abortion, foetal deformities and stillbirths. The disease can be fatal.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Bird flu confirmed in wild gull in Whitehaven
A herring gull found dead has tested positive for bird flu, the Animal and Plant Health Agency has confirmed. The bird was found in Whitehaven and the agency said it was aware of a number of other wild bird deaths in the area. Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners said a number of positive cases of avian influenza had also been reported in the Whitehaven Harbour area. A spokesman said that people should not "panic" but refrain from touching or picking up dead or sick birds and report any discoveries online. Earlier in the year bird flu was found in Burnopfield, Lazonby in Cumbria and in dead swans found in a park in Chester-le-Street. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Increasing risk of animal diseases prompts dire warning for UK
A National Audit Office (NAO) report warns the UK Government is not prepared for the increasing risk of animal diseases and would struggle to manage a major outbreak, potentially costing billions. The report highlights that long-term resilience is undermined by focussing on frequent outbreaks without a long-term strategy. Contingency plans are outdated – for example, the foot and mouth strategy has not been updated since 2011. Only 5 per cent of live animal imports undergo physical checks, raising the risk of exotic diseases, and there is a shortage of vets at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, along with a high risk of failure at the Weybridge animal science lab. The NAO found that Defra acknowledges a "very high" risk of being unable to respond effectively to an outbreak but lacks a long-term strategy and action plan to improve resilience.
The Sun
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Mad cow disease confirmed on UK farm as animal shows symptoms of 1990s outbreak that led to culling millions of cattle
A CASE of "mad cow disease" has been discovered on a farm in Essex, officials say. The cow showed symptoms of the deadly disease - formally known as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - that ravaged Britain's cattle herds in the 1990s and led to millions of cattle being slaughtered. 3 3 An atypical case of BSE was confirmed when the cow was humanely culled and tested for disease, according to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Experts say there is no risk to public health or food safety as the animal was not destined to enter the food chain. Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: "A single case of atypical BSE has been confirmed on a farm in Essex. "The animal died on farm and was tested as part of our strict routine controls and surveillance regime. "Atypical BSE is distinct from classical BSE and is a spontaneously and sporadically occurring, non-contagious disease which is believed to occur at a very low level in all cattle populations. "This is proof that our surveillance system for detecting and containing this type of disease is working." Unlike the atypical variant, scientists say that classical BSE is spread through contaminated feed. Over 184,000 cows in the UK died from BSE and over 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered to stop the disease from spreading. It also caused cases of the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Professor Neil Mabbott, Personal Chair in Immunopathology, explained: 'Very occasionally, rare atypical cases of BSE are sporadically detected in cattle, but these are considered non-contagious and are not linked to an infectious origin. "Four cases of atypical BSE have been detected in the UK in the past ten years. "This current case was detected through the routine surveillance and testing brain tissues from fallen stock animals." Mabbott added that strict control measures to prevent the spread of BSE in cattle and animals have been effective so far as there have been no cases of the human variant vCJD since the 1990s. Dr James Cooper, deputy director of food policy at the Food Standards Agency. said: "There is no food safety risk. "There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed, and removal of the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity. "Consumers can be reassured that these important protection measures remain in place and that Food Standards Agency official veterinarians and meat hygiene inspectors working in all abattoirs in England will continue to ensure that the safety of consumers remains the top priority." It comes as a case of 'mad cow disease' was reported on a farm in Somerset in September 2021. Prior to that, a case of BSE was reported at a farm in Aberdeenshire in October 2018 - the first case of the disease in three years in the UK and the first confirmed in Scotland since 2008. Previously, a dead cow with the disease was discovered in Wales in 2015. What happened during the BSE epidemic? BRITAIN was gripped by BSE in the early 1990s, when the disease infected more than 30,000 cows a year. It was first discovered in 1984 in Sussex. And it was deeply dangerous to both cattle and people. The first cow to be diagnosed, known as cow 133, had an arched back, had lost weight, suffered tremors and lost its coordination. It died within six weeks. Officials discovered that feeding cows 'cannibal' feed, which contained protein from other cows or sheep, was the cause of BSE. This practice was banned in 1989. However, by 1992 and 1993, thousands of cows were infected. In those two years alone, 72,370 cows in the UK were found to have 'mad cow disease'. In August 1996, a British coroner determined that Peter Hall, a 20-year-old vegetarian who died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, contracted the illness from eating beef burgers as a child. The verdict was the first to legally link a human death to 'mad cow disease'. During the crisis, beef exports from Britain were banned by the European Union. The ban was not lifted until 2006. Cows over 30 months old were required to be killed under the 'Over Thirty Months Scheme' to stop the spread of the disease. Over 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered as prevention. 3
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Single case of atypical BSE found in cow in Essex
A single case of atypical BSE has been found in a cow on a farm in Essex, officials have said. The case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was uncovered after the animal showed some symptoms, and was humanely culled and tested for the disease, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said. Officials said there was no risk to public health or food safety and the animal was not destined to enter the food chain. Atypical BSE is a naturally occurring and non-contagious brain disease and occurs spontaneously, but rarely, in cattle, officials said. It is distinct from classical BSE which is linked to contaminated animal feed, and was responsible for the UK's 'mad cow disease' outbreak in the 1980s and 1990s that led to the culling of millions of cattle and caused fatal variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) in people. Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: 'A single case of atypical BSE has been confirmed on a farm in Essex. 'The animal died on farm and was tested as part of our strict routine controls and surveillance regime. 'Atypical BSE is distinct from classical BSE and is a spontaneously and sporadically occurring, non-contagious disease which is believed to occur at a very low level in all cattle populations. 'This is proof that our surveillance system for detecting and containing this type of disease is working.' Dr James Cooper, deputy director of food policy at the Food Standards Agency said: 'There is no food safety risk. 'There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed, and removal of the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity. ' Consumers can be reassured that these important protection measures remain in place and that Food Standards Agency official veterinarians and meat hygiene inspectors working in all abattoirs in England will continue to ensure that the safety of consumers remains the top priority.'
