To date animals from 15 Scottish have been culled The Scottish Executive is tracing the movements of sheep sold on two dates last month at Longtown Market in Carlisle, which is at the centre of the infection's spread. Those who bought sheep through private transactions, which may not have been recorded, on the 15 February or 22 February are now being asked to contact their local Animal Health office and check their stock for signs of the infection. Authorities have warned that no-one should relax their guard as the disease continues to wreak havoc within the farming industry. Figures released on Friday on the livestock slaughter tally in Dumfries and Galloway make grim reading. Sentence of death So far 12,000 sheep and 1,800 cattle from 15 of the region's farms have been culled.
Many thousands more are under sentence of death as farms on the suspect list wait for test results.
Divisional veterinary manager for South of Scotland, Grahame Cochrane, said he fears there will be many more cases before the disease is eradicated. This is far from the truth. We are organising a response that is in proportion to the threat that our rural economy is facing. It's clear now that we are in for a long haul with this, but in the next week we are determined that normal service will be resumed as much as possible. The council has set up a focus group to monitor the impact the disease has had on the local economy.