Government would struggle to cope with severe animal disease outbreak – watchdog

There are fears that authorities may not be able to cope with another livestock disease outbreak like foot and mouth (Ben Birchall/PA) - (PA Archive)

The Government is not properly prepared for the growing risk from animal diseases and would struggle to cope with a major outbreak, the spending watchdog has warned.

Animal diseases such as bird flu, bluetongue and African swine fever can pose serious threats to England’s farming sector, food security, human health and wildlife, and costs associated with an outbreak can spiral into the billions of pounds, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.