Foot and Mouth

As so many of you were interested and concerned when I was talking about foot and mouth disease in past weeks I thought I'd update anyone who is interesred.

Although mainly out of the headlines the disease is still marching through our farms.

There have been 1901 cases of foot and mouth now and we are still getting one to three new cases every day. The RSPCA has warned that the situation will explode again in the Autumn.

Some 4,000 sheep have been tested on the Brecon Beacons in Wales due to fears the disease has spread onto the huge area of open land. 400 of these sheep have now been slaughtered.
A nationwide testing is now underway to find the pockets of infected animals that have no symptoms (carriers) or those that have recovered from the disease and are still able to infect others.
It seems we are no nearer seeing the end to this nightmare and those farmers that have been able to restock are living in fear that it may all happen again.

I just heard on the news yesterday that Wales was being hit hard, with many new "carriers" diagnosed. :( There isn't a day when I don't think about the gravity or scope of this horror. Our thoughts and prayers are with all this more, unfortunate creatures, with you Carrie and all your fellow countrymen and women.

Oh God Carrie, and I thought things were getting easier. I was in the UK recently but what I read in the papers did not make me suspect that it could blow up again.

I had no idea. I thought things were calming down. There has been no news here about it, so I thought things were ok now. This is horrible news. I'm so sorry.

Hi Carrie, it seems the press does not consider this important news anymore as we haven't heard anything about it out here.
Actually I thought the danger was pretty much over. I feel terrible those poor farmers are continuing under this black cloud. I just hope and pray that an outbreak will not happen this fall.
Jackie

There has been 4,000 sheep slaughtered on the Brecon Beacons in Wales as Foot and Mouth traces were found. Further tests showed the disease has spread deeper into the Beacons and the Welsh have called back politicians from their summer holidays to deal with the crisis. It looks likely that at least another 2,000 sheep will be killed.

80,000 sheep in Cumbria are to be tested today amid fears of a second cluster there. This part of the country has already been ravaged by the disease.

The Government has also stopped the clean up operation in farms (livestock that are infected are still being slaughtered and disposed of but the disinfection of premises that takes around six weeks and allows farms to restock as long as the surrounding area is free of disease has been stopped) due to the costs.


Foot and Mouth is thought to have started in this country through infected pig swill. Infected meat was fed to pigs before it was treated to eliminate disease risks - this is highly dangerous and totally against the law. Pet foods and commercial animal feeds are of no risk at all of carrying this infection.

BSE is another thing all together. No dogs have been infected with spongiform, not even hunting hounds that are fed highly suspect meat. There has been several pet cats infected and several big cats in zoos and wildlife parks have also been infected.
Restrictions were put in force to stop the infective parts of animals, the brain and spinal column, being used in animal feeds and since then there has been no further infection. Pet food is now safe - but it may be worth writng to a few companies to check that the rules in the USA are the same as the UK laws.

We had some fantastic news yesterday!
Devon was declared free of Foot and Mouth! This means that Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are now free of the disease and restrictions have been lifted. The farming community and the tourist industry can start to rebuild shattered lives and businesses. At the height of the disease 15,950 premises were affected in this area alone.

Sadly we have another seven cases elsewhere in the country bringing the total number to 1921. There are still 48,366 premises under restriction country wide.

Carrie, in the midst of all the bad news, I am so happy to hear you use the word "fantastic"! That's been long time coming. I am thankful that you have gotten a bit of good news and hope more will be coming. Our prayers continue.

Logan

I had also been under the impression that the situation was getting better. So sorry to hear that it isn't. I wish there was something that I... or ANYONE for that matter, could do to help.

At least there was a little bit of good news! That is great. And until all of your news is good, we will continue our prayers.

So glad to hear at least a little good news. I hope the worst is over.

Carrie, I was glad to hear you talk a little like you feel something positive is happening. That is good news! Hopefully it will continue with the rest of the countryside. You all have been through so much.
Jackie

Plans have been anounced today to test a further 60 to 100 thousand sheep in the Brecon Beacons after the slaughter of around 6,000 that were shown to have antibodies to Foot and Mouth. The final decision will depend on the results of the latest blood tests, due at any time.

The tabloid press is having a field day at the moment complaining about the compensation that has been paid to farmers who have lost their stock. Around 35 millionaires have been created in the farming community. What the papers and thus the general public fail to understand is that the people who get that sort of money have invested 25 to 60 years in the pedigree stock that has been lost. It sickens me and must turn the stomach of every farmer the length and breadth of the country to see such small minded and short sighted "newsmen" at work. Do they not realise that the very heart of the British flock and milk and beef herds is at risk and the very people they are waging war against are the defenders of our heritage!

North Yorkshire and Cumbria have reported more new cases of Foot and Mouth - the total is now 1931 confirmed cases.

The number of premises where animals have been or await slaughter - 9,015.

3,690,000 animals have been slaughtered..
..575,000 cattle
..2,967,000 sheep
..139,000 pigs
..2,000 goats
..1,000 deer
..6,000 other animals

22,000 animals are awaiting slaughter.

Of those slaughtered there are19,000 bodies awaiting disposal....

NB. These are Government figures that now have a note on them that they may not be accurate as the rate of slaughter and disposal is variable....(yeah, OK)

Carrie-apparently those small minded reporters also don't understand the value of livestock - those farmers were likely already millionaires - except that what was livestock before has now been liquidated into cash. And it will take all that money to rebuild their stock, whenever that can be.

The latest news is that the Government has announced three different inquiries into the Foot and Mouth outbreak (FMD( not an epidemic, you will notice!)).
All three will be independent of the Government and centre on it's handling of the outbreak, a scientific review and a commission on the furure of farming and food.

It falls well short of the public inquiry the opposition, and the public involved, have been calling for.


A further 2 - 4 thousand sheep are to be culled on the Brecon Beacons.
Evidence of FMD has been found in two further flocks and they will be slaughtered along with neighbouring flocks - a total of around 2,000 animals.