A PIG farm which was hit by a scare over classical swine fever has been given the all-clear.
The farm, in the Barnard Castle area of County Durham, was visited by veterinary surgeons from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) after a post-mortem examination on a pig showed suspect lesions.
A ban was imposed on the movement of livestock, vehicles and people from the farm while blood tests took place on the herd.
A spokesman for Defra said yesterday that tests had proven negative. Swine fever causes pigs to become sluggish and lose their appetite, while sows can also abort unborn piglets if affected by the disease.
The last serious outbreak, three years ago in East Anglia, led to the slaughter of more than 74,000 pigs.
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