Culling for brucellosis (From Gazette & Herald)

Culling for brucellosis

DEFRA is to cull three beef animals imported into England from Northern Ireland from a herd which has subsequently had bovine brucellosis.

These animals were among five imported into Great Britain last September. The affected animals and contacts were placed under movement restriction following a brucellosis breakdown in the exporting herd in Northern Ireland.

Four of the animals, one of which died earlier this year of an indeterminate cause, were imported to a farm near Middlesborough and the remaining animal went to a holding in Scotland.

Veterinary advice is that all of the imported animals should be culled.

The decision to cull the animals comes at the same time as a case in Scotland, which has been confirmed, where two animals - imported from the Republic of Ireland last June - have aborted due to Brucella abortus.

Brucellosis has not occurred in Great Britain since 1993.

Updated: 09:55 Wednesday, February 26, 2003