The London Borough of Bromley is now in the Bluetongue Control Zone.
Details
Recent tests by DEFRA (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs) on animals at a number of farms in the south east have shown positive for the disease Bluetongue.
These cases are the first of the disease in the country although it has been widely detected in animals in northern Europe since 2006.
What is Bluetongue?
Bluetongue is an animal disease spread by two types of midges. It does not affect humans and does not affect the food chain.
Unlike other animal diseases like foot and mouth, because it is spread by midge bites it is not spread directly from animal to animal across a herd.
It is a disease of ruminants, including sheep, cattle, deer, camelids (e.g. llamas) and goats.
Further information on Bluetongue can be found on the DEFRA website.
The declaration, including a map and descriptions of the zones, is available here.
What does this mean for livestock owners in Bromley?
The London Borough of Bromley enforces the Bluetongue restrictions through its Environmental Health and Trading Standards Department via a contract to the City of London, Corporation. The contact details for the City of London, Corporation’s, Animal Welfare Team can be found in the contact section below.
Local farmers and livestock owners should be aware of the following:
What movements can take place:
- There are no restrictions on the movement of pigs as they are not susceptible to Bluetongue
- You can move ruminants anywhere within the Bluetongue Control Zone (CZ) that is not covered by the FMD Restricted Zone
- You can move ruminants into the Bluetongue Protection Zone (PZ) for slaughter
- You can move ruminants to specifically licensed abattoirs outside the PZ
- You can move ruminants into the Bluetongue CZ from the PZ or from the area outside the FMD Restricted Zone, however, you must then comply with the rules within the Control Zone
- You can move ruminants between premises in different Bluetongue Control Zones
- Controls as a result of the disease apply only to the movement of animals which means there are no additional bio-security controls, no areas of land or footpaths closed and no restrictions on human movements so the countryside currently remains open to the public.
What movements can't take place:
- You cannot move animals out of the Bluetongue Control Zone unless to slaughter as outlined above.
Licenses to move animals are obtained from DEFRA
Contact
Telephone: 020 8313 4210
e-mail: licensing@bromley.gov.uk
City of London Animal Welfare Team: 020 8897 6741
Animal Welfare Team e-mail: veterinary.harc@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Address: Environmental Health & Trading Standards, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH.