Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the number of bluetongue virus cases in cattle and sheep in (a) Kent and (b) Norfolk.

Upon detection of bluetongue disease in Kent in November during our routine surveillance, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency officials took immediate and robust action, and an investigation is ongoing to understand the origin of the disease. The animals on the affected premises in Kent and Norfolk have been humanely culled to prevent further potential spread of disease and surveillance and epidemiological assessments are on-going.

We have also put Temporary Control Zones in place in Kent and Norfolk to prevent potential spread of disease. Within the Zones, there are restrictions on the movement of susceptible animals, except under licence. The Control Zones will stay in place until we have ascertained if there is any circulating virus and that removing it would not affect disease control. We will review the need for the Zones when we have completed surveillance. We continue to work closely with industry representatives to ensure that keepers are kept up to date with developments and that issues and concerns are addressed promptly.