Disease prompts massive sheep cull

The virus causes fever and blistering in the mouth and feet of cloven-hoofed animals

CARDIFF, Wales -- Thousands of sheep have been ordered to be destroyed in the Brecon Beacons hills area of Wales after fresh cases of foot-and-mouth were confirmed.

Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Carwyn Jones said further tests would be carried out on thousands of other sheep which grazed in the area to determine the extent of the outbreak.

Jones told the Welsh National Assembly: "We have received test results for 4,000 sheep and I am afraid there are significant numbers of positive results in all the areas tested.

"Unfortunately this means these sheep will have to be slaughtered to prevent further spread of foot-and-mouth in the area."

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The news was broken to farmers at an urgent meeting held in local army barracks on Wednesday afternoon.

More than three million animals have already been culled in Britain after the highly virulent disease was discovered at an English abattoir in February.

Foot-and-mouth, which is harmless to humans but destroys the economic value of livestock, is highly-contagious. It can be carried on the soles of shoes, the tyres of vehicles or even in the air.

The disease devastated Britain's livestock industry and seriously affected tourism and the wider rural community as much of the countryside became a "no-go" area.

A spokesman for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) told Reuters the Brecon Beacons results did not constitute a fresh outbreak of the disease because foot-and-mouth had been found in livestock in the area since March.

"(Welsh authorities) are taking precautionary steps to eliminate the long-lasting traces of the disease," the spokesman said.

There have been 1,891 confirmed cases of the disease in Britain since February. Of those cases, 108 have been in Wales, according to Reuters.

While the initial pace of the outbreak has tailed off, there was still an average of four new cases each day last week, the agency reported.