Eppynt protestors say it with flowers

6 April 2001



Eppynt protestors say it with flowers

By Robert Davies, Wales correspondent

PROTESTORS threw flowers under the wheels of lorries carrying the first carcasses for disposal at the Eppynt military range near Sennybridge, Powys.

Scattering daffodils, the national flower of Wales, was a symbolic continuation of a mock funeral protest held earlier in the week, they claimed.

But to avoid possible contamination from trucks that had travelled from infected areas, no attempt was being made to stop the vehicles.

Demonstrators claim that the site is a health hazard.

But police officers insisted that liquid reported to be leaking from the back of one truck returning from the site was disinfectant and not blood.

Powys County Council claims it was not consulted when the site was chosen as the burial ground for up to 180,000 carcasses killed because of foot-and-mouth.

But a plea by the Council for the disposal of livestock carcasses to be suspended was rejected by the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff.

Carwyn Jones, minister of rural affairs, says that the firebreak cull of 40,000 sheep on the island of Anglesey will be finished by next Tuesday (10 April).

But the islands cattle farmers are worried about what will happen at turnout of the disease is still being incubated in sheep outside the infected area.

Hugh Richards, president of the National Farmers Union Cymru-Wales, urged Mr Jones to improve his communications with farmers under severe stress.

He also wants him to speed up the welfare disposal scheme.

“It is no good telling farmers that their animals cant be dealt with for a week or a fortnight when they are starving,” said Mr Richards.

“During my meetings with the Prime Minister he assured us that there was no problem with getting enough resources, so why the delays?”