Temporary restriction zones brought in to help stem the spread of the bluetongue virus (BTV-3) now cover the whole of the South East after more cases were found.
The government announced on Saturday that ‘high risk’ and ‘control’ zones previously set up in the UK had been merged and extended.
It means the new restrictions cover all of Surrey, West Sussex and Greater London, and comes days after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs extended the zones to cover the whole of Kent and East Sussex.
A government spokesperson said: “Following reports of suspicion of clinical disease in sheep at premises in East Sussex and East Yorkshire the UK CVO [chief veterinary officer] has confirmed two new cases of BTV-3.”
