THE Duchy of Cornwall, which has 28,500 hectares on the moor, said it had no cases of foot-and-mouth yet, but was encouraging tenants of its 25 Dartmoor farms to take precautions and restrict non-essential visits. Most contractors had been asked to leave the farms.
The Defence Ministry halted military training on the moor and closed off its land to the public. Training for the Ten Tors competition was suspended by the army for the next three weeks. It said a decision would have to be taken at the end of March whether to go ahead with the event; five to six weeks of training was essential.
Activities for the Duke of Edinburgh's awards were also stopped.
The DNPA closed its High Moorland Information Centre at Princetown to visitors, though it is remaining open to telephone callers.
The National Trust has closed many of its footpaths, including those that run through its properties at Castle Drogo and Buckland Abbey. Its spokeswoman said the opening of its houses and gardens, which normally happens in March, had been suspended until further notice.
Spooners and West Dartmoor Hunt said it was 'at a standstill'.
The Salmon and Trout Association has asked fishermen not to fish until further notice. Anne Voss Bark, owner of the Arundell Arms Hotel at Lifton,said her business would be affected if the prohibition continued beyond mid-March, as seemed likely. 'We have extensive fishing rights on the Tamar and the Lyd and people need to cross farmland to get there. We have started to get inquiries about whether it will be possible to fish here.'
Preparations for the Devon County Show, scheduled for May 17 to 19 at Exeter, are going ahead 'in a low key fashion', said show secretary Ollie Allen. 'We have to work closely with the Ministry and the NFU and assess the situation day by day,' she said.