Animal health experts believe that the case of mad cow disease in Aberdeenshire is a freak genetic mutation.

Movement restrictions were put in place around Boghead Farm near Huntly last week after bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in a dead five-year-old Aberdeen Angus cow. It was the first recorded case in Scotland for almost a decade and resulted in the immediate loss of the country’s “negligible BSE risk” status, which had been in place since 2016.

Animal health experts isolated all cattle related to the infected beast. Four cows have been identified and will be slaughtered this week, and brain samples will be studied by senior veterinary officials working for the Scottish government. It is understood that vets do not think the disease spread