Foot-and-Mouth and Bluetongue

From the BBC...

New foot-and-mouth case suspected

Another suspected new case of foot-and-mouth is being investigated at a farm in Hampshire, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has said.

It comes as farmers await test results which will show whether two different livestock diseases have spread.

Officials have said a suspected new case of foot-and-mouth on the Hampshire-West Sussex border was a false alarm.

The latest suspected case is in the West Tytherly area, near Stockbridge.

Animals have also been slaughtered at a farm in Englefield Green, near Egham in Surrey as a precaution, the NFU said.

Government vets are trying to determine if the UK's first case of bluetongue disease, found in a cow in...(complete story here).

Great Britain's livestock woes continue. My question is this: Since Bluetongue disease is common in Africa and has migrated through Europe in recent years, is the movement due to Global Warming? It is an insect-borne disease. Could a minute average temperature variation be the driving force causing the insects to move farther north? Whether it is or not, you can bet that it is an angle that will be played by the Global Warming alarmists.