Several more cases of the animal disease bluetongue have surfaced across the UK, and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have formally declared this an outbreak. Bluetongue is different from foot and mouth, currently present in Surrey, in that it is transmitted by midges. Only a very cold winter will kill off the midges, but experiences in mainland Europe have shown that it is capable of surviving an average winter there.
Bluetongue does not affect humans, but is fatal in 70% of cases in sheep and leads to a 40% drop in milk production in affected cows. The economic impact is clear.
On the subject of agriculture, farmers and crofters in Shetland have called for a mercy cull of tens of thousands of lambs that can now not go to market or export because of the restrictions in place on account of the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey, 1,000 miles to the south. Normally, these animals would now go for slaughter or breeding elsewhere in the UK or indeed outside the country.
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If it's 1000 miles,then why slaughter them.That is a long way---and if there are no signs there...........
ReplyDeleteMakes no sense--how awful for those farmers............
I suppose it will be difficult and expensive to carry on feeding these sheep when you can't sell them. What a blinking mess! I feel for these poor farmers who are not going to have any revenue coming in. What on earth next!
ReplyDeleteJeanie
awwww - poor lambs! :-/
ReplyDelete~Amy
It`s a very worrying situation Guido, now there are 5 different cases reported. We can only hope for a cold winter to kill of the midges that are spreading the virus.
ReplyDeleteLove Sandra xxxx