The farmer at the heart of the
foot and mouth outbreak has spoken exclusively to
Farmers Weekly following the
confirmation of the disease on his farm on the Surrey/Middlesex
border.
Rob Lawrence, who farms alongside his wife Katie, has spent the
past 25 years building up a herd of 150 Aberdeen Angus purebred and
cross suckler cows with followers at Hardwick Park Farm in
Chertsey, Surrey.
On Tuesday night (11 September) during routine checking,
Mr Lawrence noticed the first
typical symptoms of foot and mouth: slobbery mouths and picking
up of feet.
“We notified DEFRA as
soon as we returned from the outlying field at about 7.00pm and
they arrived at 8.30. However, it was then too dark to see.”
DEFRA served all precautionary restrictions and temporary zones
as of that point, and returned at 06.00 the following morning
(Wednesday 12 September) to make a closer inspection.
Mr Lawrence, who spent yesterday (Wednesday 12 September) in
quarantine at the holding adjacent to Milton Park Farm, was told by
DEFRA that the decision had been made to cull all animals on the
holding, amounting to about 350 cows and followers, following
DEFRA’s examination of all stock.
Animals at both this location and home farm have been
slaughtered, he told
Farmers Weekly this morning. “I
believe they are also in the process of slaughtering at a
neighbouring farm”
Cattle under licence to slaughter
Yesterday, 27 cows, 20 calves at foot and 13 fat cattle were
culled. “We also had four sows and a young boar at our home farm,
which were also culled,” he added. Animals had been valued prior to
slaughter.
“We have been careful not to make movements between holdings in
previous weeks, in light of the proximity of the last outbreak and
the nature of our holding.”
“Animals are not generally moved until weaning, which is due to
take place in a few weeks. After weaning, they return to the home
farm.”
“We have moved cattle under licence to slaughter since the
outbreak.”
Mr Lawrence and his wife, despite their lifelong work to build
up numbers on the 160ha (400acres), are unsure whether they will
restock.
“I haven’t got a business at the moment. After this, I don’t
think we will ever keep cattle again,” he said.
“The real tragedy, apart from the culling, is the fact that our
two little boys’ lives are going to change forever.”
George and Lonnie, who have been staying at their grandmothers
house, loved working with cattle, something they will perhaps not
get the chance to do at Hardwick Park Farm again, said Mr
Lawrence.
See:
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) 2007 Surrey outbreak – Farmers Weekly
Interactive’s special report