New Foot and Mouth risk to the UK assessment published
A rapid risk assessment conducted earlier in April 2025 has concluded that the risk of foot and mouth disease entering Great Britain over the next three months is medium, primarily due to ongoing outbreaks in Hungary and Slovakia. The assessment highlights significant concern over the potential for silent spread of the virus across EU member states, particularly into Poland, Czechia, and Austria, which could facilitate undetected movement of the virus into GB. Commercial, personal, and illegal imports of products of animal origin (POAO) are all identified as the main pathways, each carrying a medium risk.
A particular area of concern is the high volume of illegal meat and dairy imports seized at ports. Despite existing safeguards, the complexity of current import rules hampers enforcement. The assessment suggests a clearer, more comprehensive ban on EU-origin POAO as a way to improve compliance and reduce the threat of disease. This has since been introduced for personal imports by travellers entering the UK, which is a good step forward, but the threat remains. You can read the latest executive summary of the risk assessment and order a copy of the full assessment.