Animal disease

As a rural district, the risk of animal disease and its associated impacts should not be ignored. Recent years have seen outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Bluetongue (BT) and Avian Influenza (‘Bird Flu’ or AI) on the borders of the district.

Animal Health, an executive agency of Defra, takes the lead in the operational aspects of containing and controlling an outbreak of animal disease.

Local Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Emergency Planning teams and the Health Protection Agency will all also have a role to play and will work closely alongside Animal Health to assist in the control of the outbreak and support the local community as appropriate.

More detailed information about animal disease can be found by visiting the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency pages on gov.uk.