crufts dog show

[carrie]

There seems no lessening of the spread as yet. Day 13 and we have ten new cases confirmed today - that's 51 farms in mainland Britain and one in Northern Ireland.
It is impossible to guess how or when the spread will be stopped as all parts of the country are now infected. A farm on the edge of Dartmoor is infected and if signs of disease are seen on the moor then the army will be sent it to begin culling wildlife and sheep.
Overcrowding on farms is becoming an issue as new stock is born and no animals can be moved out. Factories and transport companies are laying off workers in a bid to save businesses that rely on the meat trade and pubs and shops in rural situations are suffering too.
Thank you all for your support, I am passing it on to friends and it helps to know that people are thinking of them and understand what they are going through.

[Sudilar]

Carrie,
Without your imput on the horrible tragedy, I would really not be aware of the magnitude of the disaster. The news reports it, but with having someone in the middle of it, makes the tragedy hit home. My prayers are with you and your fellow countrymen. I pray for an end to the disaster quickly.
Sue

[carrie]

It's nearly 3.30pm here and we have just had the 60th case of Foot and Mouth confirmed.
A farm right in the middle of Dartmoor has now been confirmed as having the disease. Dartmoor is 200 square miles of open moorland that is grazed by sheep and cows, native Dartmoor ponies and Red deer. This is a tragic development among the general fear and desperation.
A farmer was stopped last night by police and shotguns were taken from him as the police feared for his safety. The pressure on the rural community is becoming almost unbearable.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Carrie, it just seems to be getting worse, instead of better. I know it is very hard for you with your friends and neighbors losing everything they worked for all these years. We will hope and pray for all, that there will be a change and a turn around of this horrible disease. Keep the Faith!
Jackie

[carrie]

This is terrible to write knowing that the spread has escalted to the scale it is now but our Government has decided that from tomorrow they will start to move uninfected livestock to approved abbatoirs.
Once an application has been made from a farmer in an unrestricted area and that has been approved they are given 24 hours for their animals to be put in disinfected lorries and transported to approved abbatoirs, killed and processed.(The shortest incubation period for Foot and Mouth is 36 hours, so anyone can work out that what appears to be healthy animals may be very contagious by the time they reach their destination)
In a sane world this seems like madness. It can only mean that they have lost the chain of infection and need to clear as much meat as is possible before all hell breaks loose.
They did a similar thing in the sixties - told everyone it was safe to move animals as they thought the outbreak was over - then several more cases came to light. This time we are not even pretending that the peak has been reached.
Many are seeing this as a purely financial desicion, some as a real desire to help farmers. I'd like to believe the latter but they are playing with fire....unless they know more than we do about the true extent of the situation.
Today has been the worst of all so far, I can hardly believe it myself, but we are up to 69 confirmed cases - 18 new cases in one day.
Friends of mine are 3 miles away from the case on Dartmoor and spent most of last night saying goodbye to their animals, they can't believe they will be disease free for long.
There are nearly 250 thousand sheep and cows on Dartmoor.
I just don't know what else to say at the moment - there are still people breaking the law to see the fires burning, still people breaking the law by claiming their rights to walk on common land with their dogs and still animal rights organisations prepared to march, many of them from rural communities, in protest of farming methods. I will continue to keep you updated but am running out of words to describe the situation.

[Karen]

I am so very sad for your friends, for the farmers, for all those whose livelyhood and hearts are literally going "up in smoke," and it seems like the government is just going to make it worse. If there was anything we could do, we would, and I hope you and those you know and love know that. What an awful, awful time for you.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

My heart breaks for the people in your part of the world, words cannot express the sorrow we feel. I know how difficult it is for you to write but we appreciate the news you give us and each time we hope it will be encouraging news. Please give our prayers and love to all your friends in this difficult time.
Jackie

[RachelJ]

I too need to add how very sorry I am to hear of this devastating occurance and how the effects are such that they reverberate to so many of your countrymen, their families, their livelihoods, their animals...
One can only pray that in some way this will soon be contained.

[carrie]

I have passed on your messages of support and received emails, again, asking me to thank you all for not only your support but the understanding you show.
My friends on Dartmoor have had to report to the Ministry of Agriculture that they have three cows showing symptoms. Tonight they have vets taking blood samples and police sealing the farm - the cows are salivating abnormally.....in normal days it could be nothing, tonight they don't know what to do with themselves.

[carrie]

My friends have just emailed me to tell me that one of the older policemen on the farm has passed on a disinfected bottle of Scotch, brought them inside, lit the fire for them, poured the drinks and put on a Blackadder ( very funny comedy series) tape very loud and told them to shout when they need some more Scotch.

[Corinna]

Carrie It must be hard to report all of this info, but we are all glad to receive it. We all are getting to rely on the fact that we can take a pill or a shot and ,poof the problem is gone. I'm not old enough to remeber past plaques but as anamail caretaker it is so important to make sure all animals in our care need to be watched ALWAYS. We have so much freedom of movement around the globe today, we forget the old diseases are still around. Small pox is a good example heard of a case in an developing nation. They would not immunice my children even though I demanded it.As a spinner I'm very concerned as you floks have some very rare breeds that could be lost forever with this problem. (I try to keep up with the rare breeds, as soon as I get my farm I'm raising several kinds of rares) All my faimlies prayers for all of you having to deal with this horrible time in history.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Carrie, I think you should have some of that scotch and blackadder to help you through this traumatic time. Hopefully you will see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.
In another vein, I have been to Europe twice and England is my very favorite place. I just didn't have enough time to visit all that I wanted to. We were in London then crossed the channel. In our archives, I found that one of our ancestors William Eddye, officiated as Vicar from 1591 to the time of his death Nov 23, 1616 to St. Dunstan's Church in Cranbrook, England. I thought that was kind of interesting.
Anyway, Carrie, keep your chin up and we do appreciate you keeping us posted, hopefully soon it will be good news. Take Care.
Jackie

[carrie]

St Dunstan - rings a major bell - I'll have to have a think......
Cranbrook also rings a bell - do you know what county?

I will post again shortly but the last update I had was that cases now number 71 - it's unbelievable! My friends are so amazed that people from all over the world are in touch with what is happening to them and are so concerned and thoughtful. Most of this country doesn't realise how dreadful it is for people caught up in this and they have asked me to pass on their thanks and to tell you all what a lift and spur they got from knowing you are thinking of them and their animals. You really have made a difference to them. They are isolated and to know that there are people outside of family and friends who understand and even know that they are still alive makes them stronger. Thank you all so much.
Karen ( moderater) thank you for your email - you made us all smile, my friends couldn't believe Paul knew what a "cunning plan" was and want to tell him that it will only work if it has a turnip involved somewhere.

[carrie]

Ok - we now have seventy four cases of Foot and Mouth throughout the country. The Government has changed it's mind and is now saying that at the same time in the sixties outbreak ( two weeks after the first reported case) there was 1,000 confirmed cases. So, apparently, we should be thankful.

The head vet in Iceland has given the go ahead to start shooting migrating swans as they may be a source of infection. Shot birds will then be tested to see if the action is justified.

A farmer's union here has called for the Government to scale up the slaughter policy and slaughter all animals that are known to have been at risk of infection ( those that have been in contact with infected animals). This has to be the most terrible thing for farmers to call for, but it has to be the only way forward. When they know where these animals are and are doing nothing to contain them you have to wonder, not only what planet they are living on, but what they are trying to achieve.

[KYS]

Not to take away from any updates on this deadly disease:

My friend who lives in Staffordshire, England just sent me this update.

Crufts update: The KC has now announced re-scheduled dates for Crufts.
Crufts will take place on May 25th-May 28th
unless further notice.

For full details: http://www.crufts.org.uk