RESTRICTIONS on animal movement have been relaxed in a bid to protect animal welfare.

MAFF has changed the conditions for moving livestock to help farmers whose animals may be suffering in an unsuitable environment. As from April 15 the following movements were to be allowed:

- From premises which have moved sheep and goats onto those premises during the period from February 1 to February 13 which were prohibited under previous rules

- From a premises which had only moved animals onto those premises from another premises in the same sole occupancy during the period February 14-23;

- From premises onto which there has been no movements of foot and mouth susceptible animals in the previous 21 days other than under an occupational licence provided that no sheep or goats have moved onto the premises from February 1 to February 13.

In a related development, more foot and mouth infected area restrictions were lifted this week in two separate areas of the country.

The first was in an area around Brentwood in Essex which includes the first restricted premises and which releases 898 farms. The second was an area in west Wiltshire which released 971 farms and means the whole county has now had infected area restrictions lifted.

Now a total of 11,136 farms in the UK have had infected area restrictions lifted.

Farmers will be able to take animals to any slaughterhouse willing to accept them as long as it can be reached in an uninterrupted journey which takes less than four and a half hours. A vet no longer has to inspect them before movement.

It also now means those farmers can apply for licences to move livestock to more areas under the livestock movement schemes. They will no longer be restricted to licensed movements in their own Infected Area. But they will not be allowed to move to any farm in a Provisionally Free Area.

Updated: 09:27 Thursday, April 26, 2001