Meat supply chains in East Anglia are being hit as restrictions on cattle and sheep movements are imposed to halt the spread of Bluetongue.

After the disease struck this week in Haddiscoe, Norwich and Lowestoft, a large swathe of livestock farmers in Suffolk and Norfolk now need to apply for licences to move their animals.

Graham Ellis, a livestock auctioneer based at Stanfords in Colchester, said although his market is outside the zone, eight cattle from Bungay were unable to reach his Tuesday sale this week as a result of the restrictions - making up about up about a fifth of the total.

Later, a farmer from Dereham had to cancel delivery of 52 of his sheep to next Tuesday's market after the movement ban was widened as new cases emerged. They would have made up around a tenth of the total sheep count.

Mr Ellis and fellow auctioneer Tim Brassington went to the affected farms near Lowestoft and Norwich to carry out valuations for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) this week.

Tim Brassington auctioning sheep (Image: Su Anderson)

"We go and value for the ministry," explained Mr Ellis. "The boys are getting their tups (rams) to go out with the ewes and they are noticing they're not well."

It's believed the animals are being infected via midges which are blowing in from continental Europe where Bluetongue has taken hold.

"The wind is blowing from the east at the moment and Holland is rife with it," he said.

"My personal view is we won't stop it by doing what we are doing. I think it's a case of having to live with it - like we did with Covid. I don't know how you control midges in the countryside."

The disease has struck at the worst time for farmers, he said. "This is the time when breeding sheep and breeding cattle get sold," he explained.

But farmers in East Anglia and Kent - the area most vulnerable to midges arriving from across the channel - have been fearing the worst for some time, he said.

"I think logically we thought one day an animal would be found with Bluetongue."

Although the Colchester market is currently outside the zone - unlike Norwich livestock market - he fears new cases could arise.

"I'm very concerned. I'm concerned for the market because if we are restricted on what we can sell and can't sell it will make it difficult to operate the market. Who's going to come out of the north to buy sheep when there's Bluetongue around?"

Mr Ellis said had been fielding calls all day as he watched cricket at Lords.

"The biggest impact is on the livestock producers because of the uncertainty," he said. "There are meetings being held at the moment so let's hope they come up with a sensible solution. This is their prime season - the big sales are on."

The solution might be to allow the East to trade normally within its region, he suggested.

"It's a worrying time for everybody," he added.

(Image: CHARLOTTE BOND)

Graham Ellis (Image: Gregg Brown)