Foot and Mouth is the most infectious disease known in the animal world.
France has slaughtered more animals than Britain has in an attempt to prevent the disease spreading to continental Europe.
We have 40 confirmed cases now and around 90 farms in isolation as they have animals that are suspect or have had possible contact with the infection. The countryside is totally shut. Thank you all for your interest and concern - lambing and calving time is on us and to see newborns in such terrible circumatances is heartbreaking.
(A point of interest - the USA last had an outbreak of the disease in 1929).