While England remains in a state of total foot-and-mouth lockdown, Scottish meat production is back in business. Richard Lochhead, Scotlands environment secretary, announced 8 August that Scot farmers could start sending their animals for slaughter, lifting the total ban on animal movement imposed after the virus was discovered in Surrey last week.

The Scotsman estimates that the Scottish red meat industry has lost about £2 million a day due to the lockdown on movement. Agricultural ministers around Europe are currently meeting in Brüssels to discuss the ban on all meat exports from Britain. It is, according to The Scotsman, understood that UK ministers will argue for British regions to be treated differently, possibly with Scotland, Wales and north-east of England allowed to begin exporting meat again before the rest of England. Northern Ireland is already allowed to export meat.

The biggest problem in Scotland is the pig sector, where numbers build up very quickly. About 14 000 pigs are processed every week in Scttish abattoirs, and farmers who cannot move these animals will quickly run out of space. A spokesman for the National farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) told the Scotman that they look to Brüssels with eager eyes, as it could mean Scottish meat could be sold on the Continent again in weeks, rather than three months as feared.

Mr Lochhead stressed that the situation in England is being monitored closely, and any signs of outbreak outside the current carantene-area will result in immediate respons in Scotland as well.

Charles Milne, Scotland’s chief veterinary officer, said:

On the basis of a veterinary risk assessment, I am confident that we can proceed with this limited relaxation in Scotland on a stricly controlled basis.

Mr Lochhead has already relaxed some of the restrictions in Scotland, permitting dairy cattle to be moved for milking, allowing cattle to be moved for treatment and removing the ban on farm burials.

The Scottish relaxation on restrictions came after reports that the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease suggested that human error or even the deliberate release of viral material, possibly in the act of sabotage, could have caused the outbreak. The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) report 8^th of August did not specify if the private company Merial, or the state-run Institute for Animal health, both based at the Pirbright site, could be responsible.