Our neighbouring country Slovakia has had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and it has been detected very close to the Czech border. So far, it has not reached the Czech Republic, but precautions are under way.
One of those precautions is forbidding the trimming of hooves in cows and sheep and shearing sheep. So just as the shearing season is starting, it has already stopped. This is an official decision from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Trimming of cow hooves is quite a big thing here. I think the hooves of every cow in the country get trimmed, mostly because the animals are housed inside for a big part of the year. I was due to shear, but it was cancelled.
At the moment, milk is tested from surrounding farms and, as of now, everything is clear. So, it is all a bit of drama over here. Farmers can shear their own sheep though.
