Foot and Mouth Disease - 25 years on

February 2026 marks 25 years since the UK’s most devastating Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in 2001 - a crisis that fundamentally reshaped our approach to animal health, bio security, and border protection.

In 2001, FMD spread rapidly across the British countryside, affecting more than 2,000 farms and leading to the slaughter of over 6 million cattle and sheep as part of disease-control efforts.

The outbreak caused profound economic and social damage across agriculture, rural communities, and tourism, with estimated losses of around £8 billion at the time (often cited as £14–15 billion in today’s values).

Public rights of way were closed nationwide to limit spread, underlining the scale of the emergency.

 

Fast-forward to 2025, and Europe was reminded once again that FMD is never merely ‘history’ - it is a live, trans-boundary threat capable of re-emerging quickly and triggering immediate trade and border-control consequences.

New outbreaks were confirmed in Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia. While these were managed with strict control zones and surveillance, they clearly demonstrated the ongoing risk posed by trans-boundary animal diseases:

·       Germany reported FMD to WOAH on 10 January 2025. The UK initially applied whole-country restrictions from 13 January 2025, later moving to regionalisation once disease controls and assurances were assessed.

·       Hungary notified WOAH on 7 March 2025 following detection in cattle near the Slovakian border. In response, the UK suspended commercial imports of susceptible commodities from Hungary and Slovakia, with safeguard declarations following shortly after.

·       Slovakia subsequently confirmed its own outbreak later in March, reinforcing the importance of neighbouring-country risk assessments.

Following a further Hungarian outbreak near the Austrian border on 26 March 2025, similar UK measures were extended to Austria as a precautionary step.

Foot-and-mouth disease affects a wide range of cloven-hoofed species - including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs (including wild boar) - as well as other ruminants such as deer, bison, and buffalo.

As a result, products derived from these species are either restricted or must meet specific risk-mitigating treatment requirements.

 

In response, Ashford Port Health undertook extensive checks on thousands of consignments of affected commodities, including germplasm, fresh meat, insufficiently treated meat products, milk and dairy products,

and certain animal by-products such as blood, offal, processed animal proteins, animal casings, untreated wool and hair, and even hay and straw, which can act as mechanical vectors.

 

In the days immediately following the announcement of FMD in Brandenburg, Germany (confirmed in a group of 13 buffalo), Ashford Port Health stopped more than 120 lorries entering the UK. Over 3,000 tonnes of food products derived from FMD-susceptible species were thoroughly checked. Consignments that had not undergone sufficient risk-mitigating treatment to inactivate the virus were refused entry and re-exported.

These controls are a critical pillar of the UK’s bio-security system, protecting livestock, farmers’ livelihoods, and the wider agricultural economy from the devastating consequences of FMD.

 

Against this backdrop, the work of Port Health Authorities remains essential. Through vigilant border controls, robust import checks, targeted risk-based interventions, and close collaboration with veterinary and farming partners, Port Health teams help to:

·       Prevent high-risk disease agents entering the UK

·       Protect the livestock sector and rural economy from catastrophic outbreaks

·       Safeguard both animal and public health at ports and border crossings

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As disease threats continue to evolve across Europe and beyond, our commitment to strong bio-security - informed by the hard lessons of 2001- remains vital.

To all Port Health Professionals, Official Veterinarians, DEFRA / APHA partners, Farmers, Importers and stakeholders working tirelessly to keep the UK free from FMD and other trans-boundary threats: thank you for your dedication, vigilance, and expertise.