By Ewan Pate, farming editor

RICHARD LOCHHEAD did not exaggerate when he called yesterday’s news of another foot-and-mouth case in Surrey “a gut-wrenching body blow to the livestock industry.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs was speaking at Holyrood at the end of a day which had instantly changed the prospects of an industry just returning to normality after the previous Surrey outbreak which started on August 3.

Restrictions were in place on all livestock movements across Scotland by 3pm, causing confusion on a day when there were sales being held across the country.

By later in the day Mr Lochhead had already announced three relaxations.

The movement of animals to slaughter will be of help and avoid the shutdown of the processing sector, but the hard won return of exports of meat and live animals to the EU market has evaporated.

James Withers, deputy chief executive of NFUS, said as he left an emergency briefing in Edinburgh last night, “There will be movement direct to slaughter but it is back to single pick-up points and no multiple collections.

“Chief vet Charles Milne is being understandably cautious. There are simply too many unknowns.

“We don’t yet have the strain confirmed and there are tests being carried out on a farm in Norfolk as well as concerns about two contiguous farms to the Egham premises.”

In many ways yesterday’s news is more devastating than that of the August outbreak. At that time the store stock sales were imminent but there was room for manoeuvre and for dates to be rearranged.

“The timing now could not be worse. September is far and away the busiest month for store sales, but this year there has been a virtual doubling up of the sales to catch up on earlier cancellations.

Dugald Hamilton, managing director of auctioneers Lawrie and Symington at Forfar, said last night, “This is absolutely devastating. You should see the faces of my staff.

“We are wondering how many more kicks the auction system can take after BSE and the previous foot-and-mouth outbreaks.

“We had a prime stock sale today and we are now more or less clear of stock, but it has been a terrible day of differing information and confusion.

“Store sales had just started again at reasonable prices and now this.

“There will also be problems for our regular suppliers of prime cattle because their numbers are running low and they need to get out and buy in fresh stock.”

Cancellations have already come thick and fast. The top-ranking Kelso ram sales due to take place tomorrow are an early casualty.

Some 6132 rams were entered and the sale would have been expected to gross over £2 million.

The giant marquees which have been erected to serve the 16 sale rings will stand empty and the organiser, the Border Union Agricultural Society, stands to lose an estimated £80,000 to £100,000.

David Leggat, chief executive of United Auctions, was in Stirling yesterday at the end of a sale which had seen 12,000 sheep and 1200 cattle through the rings.

“We have them all moved out under licence but this is desperate news. We have sales on every day this week at Stirling, Perth and Dalmally and at the moment everything is cancelled.”

At Lanark market the situation was if anything more difficult.

The annual two-day show and sale of elite Texel sheep had just started and there were 700 sheep and over 1000 people in the market when the news of the new foot-and-mouth case broke.

Veterinary inspectors immediately moved into action and a Texel gimmer was found to have some suspicious symptoms prompting an immediate lock-down of the premises.

Rumours persisted throughout the afternoon but eventually the sheep was declared not to be infected.

Nonetheless there was still the marathon task of issuing a licence for each sheep to return home unjudged and unsold.

Attention will turn to the source of the new case. It is believed that the farm close to Egham, Surrey, is one of 10 holdings run by a grazier or cattle dealer.

Two of these holdings are said to be 10 miles away, within the previous surveillance zone around the Pirbright outbreaks.