Regulations stating how the Government and horse industry would deal with an outbreak of African Horse Sickness (AHS) in the UK became law on 21 November.
Brigadier Paul Jepson, the chairman of the African Horse Sickness Working Group, has said the robust regulations would help control spread of the disease and avoid control measures that involve mass slaughter.
Compensation up to a maximum of £2,500 will only be paid where suspect horses are killed but subsequently are found not to have the disease.
The regulations can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk
This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (6 December 2012)