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An investigation has begun to find origin of the case of mad cow disease that was identified on a farm in Somerset on Friday.
Officials said the dead animal had been removed from the unnamed farm in southwest England, adding there was 'no risk to food safety'.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said they will launch a 'thorough investigation of the herd, the premises, potential sources of infection and will produce a full report on the incident in due course'.
Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said: 'The UK's overall risk status for BSE remains at 'controlled' and there is no risk to food safety or public health.'
The APHA are set to launch 'thorough investigation' into mad cow disease on Somerset farm Case was confirmed on Friday and the dead animal had already been removed (file photo)
Five cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, have been identified in Britain since 2014.
However, APHA added that all of the confirmed cases have been in animals not destined for the human food chain and posed no risk to the general public.
Yesterday's case is first since 2018, when disease was found on a farm in Scotland.
The agency said precautionary movement restrictions have been put in place to stop the movement of livestock in the area while further investigations continue to identify the origin of the disease.
Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said the dead animal was tested as part of 'TSE [transmissible spongiform encephalopathies] surveillance controls'.
She added: 'This is further proof that our surveillance system for detecting and containing this type of disease is working.
'We recognise this will be a traumatic time for the farmer and we are on hand to offer advice through this difficult period.
'The UK's overall risk status for BSE remains at 'controlled' and there is no risk to food safety or public health.'
A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said: 'There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE, including controls on animal feed, and removal of the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity.
