British vets confirm disease hit farm by suspected source
British vets have confirmed animals slaughtered on a farm next door to the establishment suspected of being the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak did have the infection.
The announcement has come as Britain's agriculture minister Joyce Quin and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food chief vet Richard Drummond held a joint briefing in Northumberland.
Meanwhile, MAFF has confirmed a third outbreak of foot-and-mouth in pigs on a Northumberland farm and confirmed a second case in Devon.
The animals in Northumberland have already been slaughtered as a precaution but clinical tests taken at the time reveal they were diseased.
The animals were from the farm which stands just yards from Burnside Farm, which has been deemed the probable source of the outbreak.
Mrs Quin and Mr Drummond held the news conference at a pub in Heddon-on-the-Hill, a couple of miles from Burnside Farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall.
She says they will not be visiting Burnside Farm, where a mass incineration of more than 800 animals is due to take place, because of restrictions on movement in contaminated areas.
Instead she is to meet regional National Farmers' Union chiefs and farmers away from the Heddon-on-the Wall area.
She added: "Any additional outbreaks are grim news and it reinforces the policy of not having livestock movements for the immediate future.
"We have always been concerned there was the possibility of further outbreaks and we have to ensure they are effectively followed up as quickly as possible. We are very pleased with the co-operation we have received from farmers, local authorities, the police and everyone involved in tackling this disease. "
