Cattle culled after Aberdeenshire BSE case clear of disease

The isolated case involves Boghead Farm in Lumsden

Four cattle culled at a farm in Aberdeenshire where BSE was discovered did not have the disease, tests have revealed.

So-called "mad cow disease" was discovered last month at Boghead Farm in Lumsden.

Three "cohort" animals of the confirmed case and one offspring were culled and sent for testing at a specialist facility in Dumfries.

Investigations are under way to try to trace the source of the outbreak.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "We welcome the news that the precautionary tests recently carried out on a further four animals were negative for BSE.

"‎Vets from the Animal and Plant Health Agency have now commenced a veterinary epidemiological investigation to establish, if possible, the source of the disease."

• 'Mad Cow Disease': What is BSE

The farmer involved - Thomas Jackson - spoke at the time of his "devastation" about the discovery in his beef herd.

There have been 16 cases of BSE in the UK in the past seven years.

In contrast, thousands of cattle were infected at the height of the BSE crisis back in the 1980s and 1990s.

More than four million animals were slaughtered in an attempt to halt the disease.