Foot and Mouth - update

Over the last two days I have received over fourty emails from farmers directly affected by the terrible epidemic of Foot and Mouth disease that swept through the U.K. last year.

(I can't email out at the moment so my phone bill will be a major suprise to hubby when he gets back next month as I have phoned every one of them!!!!!)

Every one was prompted by some really, really good news.
Every one was to thank all of you for the kind words, prayers and messages of support that you all sent, via yours truly, to people in desperate times.

As I said, I have over forty, here is the main gist of the content;

"Thank you all so much for thinking of our little farm in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. We felt so alone and that nobody knew what was happening to us and our animals."


"We cannot thank you all enough for your kind messages. It meant a lot at a very dark time to know that people on the other side of the world were thinking of us."

"The Pet Talk people gave us hope and contact with the outside world."


"Just knowing that there were people from all over the world thinking of us made us stronger. We felt that nobody cared and we were the only ones concerned with what was happening to our stock. We never had the disease and we still lost them all. To suddenly get messages from you made us think of people as humans again."


The good news that prompted all these emails was that last night at midnight (14th/15th January) the last county in the UK was declared disease free!!!!!!!!

The last case was on 30th September 2001, the last of 2030.

Over 6 million animals were slaughtered during the last 11 months.

Over 3 million sheep have been tested to achieve a disease free status.

Sadly, there are still some individual farms that are still under restrictions as the second phase of disinfection has not been completed. Most of these will be cleared by the end of February.

Exports are still under restriction although some meat and some live (Boo!) pigs are allowed under license.

Some import of stock is also now allowed.

98% of footpaths are now open and I can say from experience how wonderful it is to see something as normal as sheep and cattle out in the fields again. We even spotted some sows with piglets the other day!!!

British farming will never recover, that is unavoidable. Many great animals, farms and farming people have been lost and this will continue for the next few years as more realise they cannot regain their loses. It is a tragic situation and has been a catastrophic few years.

I wanted all of you who sent messages of sympathy, support and encouragement to those you only heard of through news reports and this site to know that you had a huge impact on the farmers that you touched. In the most devastating days of their lives you let them know that being isolated and cut off did not mean they were forgotten or alone.
From the quotes above I hope you can see what your time and empathy REALLY meant to these people and I want to thank each and every one of you and you all as a group.

You really made a difference to an awful lot of people!

Over and over I am reading how thankful for the contact and knowledge that their plight was known all over the world. This really made a impact on people shut off from their friends and family with an empty farm and no end in sight.

Thank you all again.

You are very special people - that's official! - over forty families think so!!!!!


(Sorry this went on a bit......got a bit emotional, I have to say!)

Oh, Carrie, thanks for letting us know. While life will not ever be the same, it does go on, and I am so glad that last county was cleared. Now the healing can commence. Pass along our continued thoughts and well-wishes to them all ...

Carrie, I don't really know what your talking about, but it's touching to read!! I haven't heard much about foot and mouth, but I heard a lot about animals dying, and wanted to learn more. I asked my vet when working there, and was given something to read about it. It tought me a little, but i'm sure there still more to learn. It's sad that all those millions of animals had to die! How does the disease work?? Like where did it start? or how? Do you know? If anyone knows some info on it that would care to share, I'd love to listen :D

Thanks for posting that Carrie (I never saw anything about the issue before) but it was nice to hear about the kind people in the world who care.

Thank you for the update, Carrie. It was very heartening to read that progress is being made. What a horrendous loss. I will continue to hold you in my thoughts and prayers.

Carrie, I wasn't a Pet Talk member when the whole foot and mouth issues began but I was certainly aware of them. Your post brought me to tears, for the animals lost, for the families and farms that were devastated by this, and lastly tears of joy and hope for the generosity of the Pet Talk board. Your heartfelt thanks was wonderful and as usual you were extremely eloquent. I'm so glad things are "looking up", that your country is on the other side of the hill so to speak. Thank you so much for posting this and for being a part of this forum. God Bless all those families.

Carrie,
I, like the others, want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing those wonderful messages. I hate the devistation your country has endured, but I am delighted at the good news!!!
Thanks again.
Logan

Carrie,

I'm so happy to know that the few words and wishes we sent were of some comfort to all those people affected so badly by these terrible events. I felt so helpless and it's nice to know that at least I was of some use. I'm also extremely pleased that finally things are looking up.

Dearest Carrie,

Thank you for the update. I had wondered from time to time what was going on with the foot and mouth disease. I personally am glad that the Pet Talk forum has helped give encouragement to the farmers in some small way. Even if it was only to let them know we were aware of their plight! It is a terrible feeling when you think you are going through a serious situation and nobody is even aware of what is going on. We were aware because you were kind enough to inform us. Thank you again for the update!

Candy

Carrie,

I wanted to thank you for posting those wonderful comments. I feel horrible for those who lost everything. I can't imagine the horror of seeing your livelihood taken away from you, and to see all those empty fields...that makes me ache thinking about it.

I wish there was more I could do to help, but I don't think there is. I hope the future is more forgiving, and those farmers are able to heal from these wounds left in their hearts.

Carrie- I saw in the news this week that this horrible scourge has been eliminated. Such relief! The photos last year during the worst of it were so, so devastating. I reached the point where I could not bear looking. The faces of the sheep and cattle, the "dumping grounds....I cannot image what it was like to live it.

May it never happen again!

For anyone who missed her previous reports on the tragic Foot and Mouth Disease that struck farmers in the U.K. last year, here are the links to her Pet Talk Posts:

[General]; Foot & Mouth

[Dog Breeds]; "Cruft's Dog Show" bacame the Foot & Mouth news story

[Dog General]; "Crufts Dog Show" more Foot & Mouth comments

THANKS to Carrie for her outstanding efforts in keeping us informed and for passing our concerns on the the Farming Community!

I second that, Cinder and Smoke--thanks to you, Carrie, for a great follow-up to a horrifying story.

I had heard some months ago that there was a fund or adoption program set up for the herding dogs of the farmers whose livestock was slaughtered: the dogs were being given away or taken to shelters because they no longer had any livestock to work, and the ranchers couldn't afford to care for the dogs any longer. Is this true, and if so, how is that program now? Were most of the working dogs adopted by others, or paid for by the fund? Just curious--it was a facet of the terrible story that I hadn't even considered before I'd heard of it.