More culls as fresh cases emerge

More sheep are to be tested for the disease

Thousands more sheep are to be culled on the Brecon Beacons in mid Wales after tests reveal that foot-and-mouth disease has spread.

The Welsh Assembly has said that between 2,000 and 4,000 animals are expected to be killed in a bid to halt the virus.

Crisis in Wales

Total confirmed cases UK-wide 1,936 - with 117 in Wales

Powys - 76 cases

Anglesey - 13 cases

Monmouthshire - 21 cases

Caerphilly - 2

Rhondda Cynon Taff - 1

Neath Port Talbot -1

Newport - 3

Meanwhile, three new cases of the disease have been announced in Wales on Thursday - two in hefted flocks on the Brecon Beacons and one in sheep and cattle at a farm at Llwyndu, Abergavenny in Monmouthshire.

The latest cull will come as a bitter blow to the farming community in the Beacons which, in the past few weeks, has witnessed the slaughter of 6,500 sheep.

But rural affairs officials have insisted they are confident that the mass cull of tens of thousands of animals will not be necessary.

Meanwhile the First Minister Rhodri Morgan has announced that the handling of the crisis in Wales will be examined in a series of new inquiries.

They will look at how the situation was handled by the Welsh Assembly and what lessons can be learnt.

The investigations fall short of the full public inquiry which was demanded by opposition politicians.

Test results

The results of the latest tests in the Brecon Beacons have shown lower levels of antibodies than the five flocks tested earlier in the area.

Assembly officials have said this confirms that the disease is concentrated in the Pen-y-Fan area.

Welsh rural affairs minister Carwyn Jones has said that he believes that the disease is not endemic in the Beacons.

Mr Jones said:" We strongly suspect that the disease is spreading slowly from Pen-y-Fan and that has been born out in the tests that have been carried out so far."

Carwyn Jones says he is confident

"It indicates how important it is that we cull quickly and that we take appropriate measures, firebreaks, where necessary so the disease doesn't have the chance to spread any further".

They also claim that the results of these new tests show that this particular outbreak started in Libanus and spread to Pen-y-Fan, and not the other way around.

Mr Jones said he was encouraged because the flocks which have tested positive were near the initial cluster of cases in Libanus and tests further afield have proved negative indicating the disease was not endemic.

Further blood tests are now to be carried out near the negative sites to vindicate the belief that disease has not spread.