Despite the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on a farm in Surrey, the countryside remains open. Climbers and walkers should continue their activities as normal.

A suspected outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease was reported on Friday at Wolford farm, near Guildford. The Department of Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has responded immediately with a complete ban of livestock movement across the UK. There have so far not been any further outbreaks, but Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has urged people to remain vigilant. Inspectors hope to confirm the source of the outbreak in the next 36 hours.

The FMD outbreak in 2001 was the BMC’s most significant access concern of that year and we committed a substantial amount of our resources to managing access across the country. The BMC is keen to avoid a repeat of the actions that occurred in 2001, when blanket closure of the countryside had an extremely wide-ranging impact on the rural economy of the UK. The BMC recommends in the strongest terms that it would be completely wrong to impliment blanket closures if the disease spreads, and any further closures must be evidence-based rather than on perception.

DEFRA has a protocol for closures, which states that a proportional approach will be taken, with access restrictions kept to a minimum. Recreational use of the countryside was not proven to be associated with the commencement of the FMD outbreak in 2001 or the subsequent spread of the disease. The BMC will therefore be working to ensure that key recreational and tourist areas are not closed to the public if this outbreak should spread.

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