About 50 local authorities have applied blanket closures to rights of way, many in areas where there are no confirmed outbreaks. Bedfordshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, which are also free of foot and mouth so far, have closed rights of way in rural areas but kept urban routes open. Yet in Northumberland, where the outbreak was first identified, and on Exmoor and Dartmoor in Devon, which has seen several outbreaks, rights of way were closed only where land was or had been grazed by livestock. I think it is right to close them where they go over farm land where there might have been contact with susceptible animals. The ministry of agriculture put in place statutory powers to enable local authorities to close rights of way at the end of February but decisions were delegated to local level.
Veterinary advice is available to local councils.
General guidance is that people should avoid contact with livestock. The National Trust and English Heritage, two of Britain's largest rural landlords, have adopted different policies. But English Heritage, which has 409 properties, has only closed the 180 in or near areas with confirmed outbreaks. Both organisations said yesterday they believed they were following government guidelines. Read the first of a series of regular interviews with people affected by the crisis.