Decision on Bluetongue Zone extension in industrys hands - Defra

THE decision on whether to extend Bluetongue zones to cover the whole of England or Britain will be led by the industry, Defra has said.

The discovery of Bluetongue at a farm in Peterborough has had the effect of vastly expanding the Protection Zone, which now stretches west to the Welsh border and north to Selby in North Yorkshire.

This has forced an urgent debate on whether the Protection Zone, or even the Control Zone, should be extended to cover all of England or Britain.

Expanding the zone would make it much easier to move livestock. But it would make it more likely that the disease will spread to new parts of the country and it will have serious implications for live exports.

Defra said it was keeping Bluetongue control measures under constant review and would work with the industry on this decision if the virus spreads further.

"If disease becomes more widespread, our control strategy sets out that we would consider, in consultation with the farming industry, extending the Bluetongue zones to a larger area," a Department spokeswoman said.