The Peterborough farmer, whose sheep were quarantined by experts from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) yesterday, bought the animal before the initial outbreak was diagnosed in cluster areas around Ipswich and Lowestoft.

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Related: Factfile: Bluetongue.
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Animals must not be moved out of zone.
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Today, farmers in the Peterborough area vowed to stick together to do everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease from Fitzwilliam Farm on the Milton Estates near Bretton.

Yesterday, vets from the Government agency could be seen testing a flock of more than 1,400 sheep and 12 cattle at Fitzwilliam Farm.

Visitors, who were mostly officials, could be seen scrubbing their boots down with disinfectant every time they entered or left the stone walled farm premises in lush countryside close to the huge Bretton township.

A statement from Milton Estates said that the ram had "provisionally tested positive for bluetongue disease" and that formal confirmation of the test results is expected later today.

The statement added: "It is now well understood that there is no risk to human health and there is no requirement for compulsory slaughter of infected stock. Disease control measures principally involve controlling the movement of animals in areas where the disease is present."

Les Hall, who runs Fitzwilliam Farm on the Milton Estates, was not available for comment today, but Stuart Bish from the National Farmers' Union said Mr Hall was "understandably upset" that bluetongue had affected one of his prized animals.

Fellow farmer Peter Horrell who farms just four miles away in Elton, and is familiar with the farming operation at Milton Estates said: "I spoke to Milton Estates on Monday when they told me they had a suspected case of bluetongue.

"The sheep was bought from a farm in Suffolk before the disease was first spotted so it was all done legally. The staff at Milton will now have to wait while animals are tested, there is nothing that they can do but wait.

"It is a pretty gloomy scenario, but the fact is that Europe has it, we have got it and even if the winter weather calms it down, it will be back with a vengeance next year.

"It is a disease we can all do without, but something that we have to learn to live with.

"I am just four miles from the estate and if we get a wind then I am vulnerable but I know there is nothing I can do, it is out of our control. I am in a bad enough position, but these sheep farmers are in a horrendous position."