crufts dog show

[Corinna]

Crrie thanks for answering my question. I sure hope we here in the United States can keep this nightmare from happening here. Hopefully then we can help your countries rebuild from stock here. I know it doesn't help the loss of many bloodlines and time in the breeding programs . I have another question is it only cloven hooved animals or are the draft horses I love so mach in trouble too?

[Karen]

It is only cloven-hooved animals that are in danger from it. Horses can carry it, but they are not affected by it, thank heavens for at least one kind spared.

[carrie]

Karen, your words totally capture the feeling of impotence. It is now three weeks since the first case and things are at desperation point for many farmers. Families have been kept apart - friends of mine work on different farms, they have a five year old son that a Grandparent is caring for and have not been able to see him or each other for nearly two weeks now.
The Government has issued a statement today saying that this situation is likely to go on for several months.
In Cumbria the Chief Veterinary Officer is meeting with farmers tomorrow to try and talk them into allowing healthy stock to be slaughtered in a bid to stop the disease.
In Scotland there is less resistance to the scheme as farmers there are worried that if the whole of Scotland is infected they will have nowhere to go to restock.

We have 325 cases in the UK now - another massive rise today of 25 new cases.

Horses are not infected with the virus but are potential carriers so any horses in an infected area are not allowed to move from the farm or yard they are in.

[carrie]

The Netherlands have reported, yesterday, that they have a suspected case of Foot and Mouth.
In the UK the cases confirmed yesterday was a massive 45!!

[Karen]

I also heard that there have been cases in Kazakhstan, though the report was unclear. Our hearts ache for you all.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Carrie, the news does not sound very encouraging, there has to be an end to this nightmare sometime soon. I see from our news that they think they have found a farm in Vermont with goats who they are pretty sure have Mad Cow disease. I thought that disease was confined to cows. Every day we hope to hear from you that the number of cases of Foot and Mouth disease will go down and it seems to increase. Those poor farmers, we just can't even imagine the agony they are going through along with you seeing your friends losing their animals and farms. We have just about run out of words, I think only prayers will help now.
Now I'm not sure if it was goats or sheep!

[This message has been edited by jackiesdaisy1935 (edited March 21, 2001).]

[carrie]

The Netherlands have now confirmed three cases of Foot and Mouth - they can not find the source of infection which is very scary as it means they also don't know the pattern of likely spread, if any.

We had another 40 new cases confirmed yesterday - 85 in two days!!

We have been told not to expect the peak of the disease until May - farmers under intolerable pressure can see no end or relief.

BSE only affects cows. There are, however many variants of spongiform ecephalitis - CJD in humans, scrapies in sheep. There is a known feline variant. It is also known to affect some wild deer populations in the USA.

[carrie]

Another 42 new cases yesterday - total is now 479 farms that have lost all stock.
The slaughter of healthy animals has started in Cumbria to try and create a zone around infected areas that the disease will not be able to spread over.
Animals are really suffering now. Sheep that are without grazing in their fields, due to the length of time they have been there and the bad weather we have had in the last few weeks, are now lambing. Many lambs are being lost as they are either drowning or dying from exposure.
Farmers in affected areas are finding it harder every day to carry on.

[Corinna]

Carrie, we all really thank you for the up dates as painful as they must be. i have another question, I know hoof and mouth ,and mad cow are different but havig trouble getting Truthful facts about the "scapies?" in sheep.it has to do with the Vermont sheep, it seems they have been watching them since 1989?Two showed up with antibodies but no active virus. It sounds just odd to me ,why wait so long and if no active case why distroy the whole flock? I know you probley don't have all the answers but if you know some place to look. My vet can't even answer these questions. thanks Corinna

[carrie]

Scrapies is the form of spongilitis ecephalitis that affects sheep. (BSE is the form that affects cattle and CJD is the form that affects humans.) Once cases have been confirmed in cattle the whole herd is slaughtered as a precaution to prevent the spread of the disease. This is because the route of infection was largely unknown until recently. Now it is known that infected material from an animal has to be ingested by another animal for that infection to spread. It is accepted that BSE originated as the brain and spinal cord material from infected sheep was fed to cows. Waste material from infected cows (ie the brain and spinal tissue) was then processed and put back into the feed given to cows. (Most "normal" people would see the feeding of any material from an animal source to vegetarian animals ludicrous and full of hidden dangers.....but what do we hippy tree huggers know?)
It has been confirmed that at least seven cases of CJD in this country can be directly linked to the victims eating tissue that was contaminated with brain and/or spinal tissue from cattle. It is accepted that this is the route of infection.

For sheep, I'm afraid I know little, although scrapies is an older form of the disease. I will see what I can find and get back to you.

We now have 501 cases of Foot and Mouth, the first in the Republic of Ireland was confirmed yesterday.
The Government has warned that if the disease is not under control soon then half the country's stock of susceptable animals will be culled.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

This is just so sad for our friends in England and Europe.


When things go wrong,
As they sometimes will,
When the roads your trudging,
seem all uphill,
When the funds are low,
and the debts are high,
And you want to smile,
but have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must,
But don't you ever quit.

[carrie]

We have 559 confirmed cases.

The powers that be have predicted that we will not see the end of this until, at least, August. By then they estimate the total number of farms to loose livestock because of infection to be 4,400.

The Government have now authorised the culling of all livestock susceptible to the disease in all farms adjacent to an outbreak. In Southern Scotland, Cumbria and Devon, where the "hot spots" are, a three km cull zone is still in operation.

We went to visit with my in -laws today. A forty minute journey that, at this time of year, is usually a joy. New lambs and calf heavy cattle are the normal and delightful scenes to look at. Today we saw a small herd of deer in one field and a flock of about twenty sheep in another. Two seconds after I shouted, "I saw some sheep!" we passed the "INFECTED AREA" sign. Those fat and peaceful sheep will be gone in the morning.

Foot and Mouth has touched our lives deeply. My friends have seen the animals they bred and cared for, cherished and were proud of killed and burned. They have been isolated for a month in an empty farm. They still wake at four every morning and can find nothing to fill their waking hours.
Foot and Mouth is now less than three miles, as the crow flies, from our doorstep. This does not make it worse or more real to us, somehow it's inevitable.
The really frightening thing is that thirty seven years ago farmers were saying, "They won't let this happen again, they will never forget this!" In thirty years time will we have learned anything?

[AdoreMyDogs]

Carrie, being a strict vegetarian I never thought this horrible foot & mouth would actually have an effect on me simply because any shortage of meat was a moot point...that is until I read your last post. I realized that this is not just a loss of meat in the market, it's the slaughter of way too many innocent animals, animals not even bred to be meat animals, and the potential bankruptcy of many farmers. And until I read your last post, I never actually thought that among all the slaughtered animals, there had to be some very special individuals who were "pets" to the farmers. I am not saying I did not care about the disease, it is still horrible and sad and scary, but I realized that it's not just affecting the animals that were going to be slaughtered anyway, it's affecting mother animals, baby animals, "pet" animals, working animals, dairy animals and it's cutting off possibly all sources of income for alot of people. I can't imagine if computers all went dead tomorrow...not only would I be out of work because I do desktop support, but so does my husband. It would leave us either living with my mom or out on the streets...it would cause us to have to sell our cars, our possessions, and worst of all...we could no longer afford pets. It's not just about the animals that were going to get slaughtered anyway. Unfortunately I did not realize that until reading your last post. I was narrow-minded to think that, it affects an unmeasurable amount more then that. I am so saddened for all those people who have to send their entire stock of sheep, cattle, pigs, and whatever else is infected or in an infected area to slaughter. In reality, they are not only losing their animals but I can imagine most may also being losing their homes/farms/jobs/income due to this. Is there anything the Government is doing to help the farmers make it through this? Are they setting up a fund for all farmers affected so people don't lose their homes and possessions? Are farmers going bankrupt? I feel bad for not seeing the full reality of this horrible disease just because I don't eat meat. I hope there is an end to it soon before it spreads even further, and I hope the farmers who are losing their animals are able to cope and find other means of income, and I hope that the animals who are sent to slaughter have a quick, painless death with little suffering and fear, and most of all, I hope all of those empty, lonely fields are once again dotted with healthy animals soon. I am headed to bed now, but feeling awfully heavy hearted and guilty for not realizing sooner how sad this disease truly is. I will say a sincere prayer tonight this heartbreaking disease to be over and done with, Carrie...and I will mean it

[Genia]

My heart cries for all the families whose lives have been changed by this horrible disease. A case has now been found in the Netherlands. I keep thinking about my former neighbor. Until 2 years ago I lived in a small town in Belgium. My neighbor was an elderly man who owned cows. Every morning I would see him walking to his fields with his horse to tend to his herd. He would always have a smile and would wave as he passed. I remember driving through the countryside, filled with cows, goats and sheep and smiling because it sort of reminded me of home. Carrie, your last post brought tears to my eyes. I'm imagining all those fields now empty. I think of my former neighbor. Bless him and please keep this horrible disease from him. I know all of these people affected are hard workers. They have to be it is a hard job. This is their lives as well as thier livelihood. I pray for them all. I am curious, as Adore asked, is the government going to provide aid? Is there a fund set up? I would be more than happy to donate. Anyone remember Farm Aid years ago?

[carrie]

Thank you both so much for your kind thoughts and words.
I, too, am a vegetarian and the supply of meat has not been too badly affected as yet. Areas that are not known to be infected have special movement orders to get stock to approved, disease free slaughter houses.
As for compensation..... once you have a suspect animal and the MAFF people come in to test and investigate they look at how many sheep and how many cows you have and calculate the current market value. In some cases this is taking four or five days. The Government will pay each farmer the price set by these officials. This does not take into account the 50 dairy cows that were your Grandfathers dream and aim when he began his breeding programme. Nor the 200 sheep that you have ploughed years of time and money into to be the best in the district. It does not take into account the quality, time, breeding, money or heart that is put into every farm animal in this country.