Livestock control zone extended

Shropshire will be covered by an extension of the bluetongue protection zone from Monday, Defra said today.

The zone will be extended to cover Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire, including north Shropshire, Shrewsbury and Atcham, south Shropshire and Bridgnorth.

The protection zones were set up immediately around the infected premises.

The county was one of the last places to be left in the bluetongue surveillance zone in the UK, which is a wider protection zone of a radius of 150km around the infected premises.

Defra bosses said a review of the vaccine availability had taken place and the decision to extend the protection zone into the last parts of the surveillance zone was made.

The vaccination for the bluetongue disease is only permitted within the protection zone and this afternoon's announcement means that no surveillance zone remains in England.

A Defra spokeswoman said: "We will continue to expand the protection zone and to roll out vaccination to the free area as vaccine is delivered. Livestock keepers in the areas coming into the protection zone will be able to obtain the vaccine from Monday."

Protection zone restrictions will apply to those keepers coming into the extended zone.

"Animals can only be moved out of the protection zone if they are vaccinated, naturally immune or moving for slaughter, subject to meeting certain conditions."