The government had already paid substantial compensation to farmers because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001 followed by the bluetongue outbreak in 2007, against the background of EC Directives 77/391 and 78/52 on eradication of tuberculosis, brucellosis, or enzootic bovine leucosis. In the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, a total of £1.4 billion in compensation was paid. The Cattle Compensation (England) Order 2006 (SI2006/168) was overturned when the High Court decided the order was unlawful; in the test case, farmers had been receiving compensation payments of around £1,000 on animals valued at over £3,000, but in extreme cases, the discrepancy between animal value and compensation paid was over a factor of 10. This case was itself overturned on appeal in 2009.R (Partridge Farms Ltd) v SSEFRA [2008] EWHC 1645 (Admin); R (Partridge Farms Ltd) v SSEFRA [2009] EWCA Civ 284.
