No one wants to see a mass cull on Dartmoor

National Farmers' Union

Vets now have to decide if any infected animals have been grazing on the common.

However chief veterinary officer Jim Scudamore said there were no plans to cull wild ponies on Dartmoor.

There are also no plans to start culling wild boar and deer.

The airborne disease spreading to the free-roaming animals would be a "nightmare scenario", according to the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

NFU spokesman David Hill suggested that the Army could be used to prevent wildlife and livestock moving between the common and the infected farms.

"We don't want the misery to turn into a catastrophe," he told BBC News.

Disinfected mats

"No one wants to see a mass cull on Dartmoor. That would be the worst possible solution."

Groups responsible for the Dartmoor National Park are calling for disinfected mats to be laid at main road access points to the moor.

The 365-square mile moor, which has a 5,000-year farming tradition, has already been declared a no-go zone for recreational use, but roads across it can still be used.

At the moment the first line of defence lies at the farm gate

Devon County Council

The secretary of the Dartmoor Commoners Council, Cherry Sage, said the mats could be used stop the disease being spread by vehicle wheels.

"If we can get the main routes done it would be something to raise public awareness," said Mrs Sage.

But a spokesman for Devon County Council said that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was not asking for the measure, and the NFU thought it was unnecessary.

There was a possibility that the mats could become "skating rinks" for vehicles in freezing weather, said the county spokesman.

"At the moment the first line of defence lies at the farm gate," he added.