The Cheltenham Festival, scheduled to start on 13 March, has been postponed for a month in the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak. The traditional highlight of the racing calendar has been put on hold and attempts will be made to stage the meeting from the 17-19 April. The decision to delay the event was taken yesterday after the Ministry of Agriculture changed its guidelines in an attempt to control the spread of the disease.
As the number of foot and mouth cases rose again today, the British government said that the outbreak showed no sign yet of being contained. Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told parliament earlier today there were 104 confirmed cases, one of which is in Northern Ireland, as eight new infected sites were found. In fact, the figure now stands at 106 cases.
The agriculture ministry said that another outbreak was found in Devon early today, bringing the county's total to 18. Devon, in the southwest, along with Cumbria in the Northwest, where another outbreak was also found, are the worst hit areas. Wales recorded its fourth outbreak. Two were discovered in Derbyshire in North England and Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland while one has been recorded in Essex in Southeast England.
