Scots farm is locked down over mad cow disease alert
THE first case of mad cow disease in Scotland for six years was confirmed on a farm yesterday.
Tests on a dead animal in Ayrshire showed it had died from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection.
The farm and three other sites – one where the cow was born and two more where cattle had access to the same feed – were immediately put into lockdown.
The Scottish Government said there was no risk to the public. Officials said the animal’s offspring and cohorts had been traced and quarantined and the animal had not entered the food chain.
According to the UK Government’s website, cohorts are cattle which were either born in the same herd as the BSE case, or reared with a BSE case at any time before both were up to a year old. They will now be culled and their carcases destroyed.
The Scottish Government said efforts to trace the origin of the disease were ongoing.
Chief veterinary officer Sheila Voas said: ‘We are working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and other partners to identify where the disease came from.
‘I want to reassure both farmers and the public that the risk associated with this isolated case is minimal. But if any farmers are concerned, I would urge them to seek veterinary advice.’
This is the first reported case of classical BSE in the UK since 2021 and the first incident in Scotland since an outbreak on a farm in Aberdeenshire in 2018.
Millions of cattle were culled in the UK in the 1990s during a BSE epidemic. Strict controls were introduced to protect consumers after BSE was linked to the fatal brain condition CreutzfeldtJakob disease in humans.
Authorities said feed controls introduced in 1988 and strengthened in 1996 have meant the incidence of BSE cases in the UK has been greatly reduced, with only five cases of classical BSE confirmed since 2014, including the one yesterday.
NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy said while it was ‘disappointing’ and a ‘huge concern’ for the farmers involved, ‘the discovery of an extremely rare and isolated classical BSE case was always a possibility’.
The Animal Plant and Health Agency is investigating the source of the latest outbreak, which the Scottish Government said was identified as a result of ‘routine surveillance and stringent control measures’.
Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie praised the farmer for their ‘diligence’. He said: ‘Their decisive action has allowed us to identify and isolate the case at speed which has minimised its impact on the wider industry.’
Food Standards Scotland said measures to ensure no diseased animals entered the food chain would continue.
Its deputy chief executive Ian McWatt said: ‘There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed and removal of the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity.
‘We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government, other agencies and industry.’
‘Strict controls in place’