New livestock disease hits UK

A double threat emerged for Britain’s farmers tonight when bluetongue disease joined foot-and-mouth as a menace to their livestock.

Bluetongue – never before found in the UK – has been discovered in a cow near Ipswich, Suffolk, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

There have been recent outbreaks of the disease on the continent.

Defra said the discovery in Suffolk was not considered an outbreak unless further investigation demonstrated that the disease is circulating.