HOYS on track unless foot and mouth is confirmed

Horse of the Year Show director Mark Wein says it’s “business as usual” until foot-and-mouth is confirmed in Solihull.

A temporary foot-and-mouth exclusion zone was set up around a farm in Solihull yesterday afternoon. The new zone is within miles of Birmingham’s NEC arena, which hosts HOYS next month (3-7 October).

DEFRA is still awaiting final test results for FMD on the Solihull farm. But, significantly, no animals have been slaughtered in the area, which might indicate that worries are unfounded.

A DEFRA spokesman told H&H the test results will be returned sometime today.

HOYS director Mark Wein said: “It’s business as usual with HOYS until we’ve had it confirmed, and even if we do there may be extenuating circumstances.

“The NEC land does just touch the temporary zone but it’s quite sterile because it’s all motorways and so on.”

For further updates, visit www.horseandhound.co.uk

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