A CONTROL zone has been placed around a farm in Herts after a case of the Bluetongue virus was discovered there – but the Government department involved will not reveal where it is. The 12.8 mile (20km) control zone was put in place by the Department for
A CONTROL zone has been placed around a farm in Herts after a case of the Bluetongue virus was discovered there - but the Government department involved will not reveal where it is.
The 12.8 mile (20km) control zone was put in place by the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and deer which are affected by the virus can move into the zone but not out of it. But DEFRA has refused to divulge to the public where the farm or the zone are.
The Bluetongue virus is spread by a species of midge and can be fatal to cud-chewing animals. The latest virus outbreak happened on the Herts farm and another in Lincolnshire and has affected seven cows. As a result DEFRA has widened the UK Bluetongue Protection Zone into Beds and Cambs.
The first case of Bluetongue was discovered in September last year and since then 110 premises have been affected.
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