Extended cull starts in Scotland

20 March 2001



Extended cull starts in Scotland

By Shelley Wright, Scotland correspondent

THE mass slaughter of sheep linked to livestock markets blamed for spreading foot-and-mouth disease has started in the north of Scotland.

But a pre-emptive cull to check the spread of the disease in Dumfries and Galloway is unlikely to begin until later this week.

Some 1800 sheep on two farms in Grampian have been killed. The cull of 1850 animals on four Highland farms is due to begin on Tuesday (20 March).

Once that is completed, the Scottish Executive hopes to be able to start lifting some of the movement restrictions on farms north of the Forth of Clyde.

Already, farmers in this area can apply for special licenses on welfare grounds to get stock from outlying areas back to their farms.

Meanwhile, plans to cull almost 200,000 sheep are progressing in Dumfries and Galloway – the only region of Scotland where the disease is confirmed.

An emergency control centre has been established in Ayr and the logistics of how to destroy and dispose of the animals are currently being worked out.

Most farmers have accepted the need to stop the disease spreading. Dumfries and Galloway is home to 30% of Scotlands dairy herd and 25% of the beef herd.

But some producers, such as Colin Strang Steel who farms near Lauder in the Borders, say they will refuse to allow ministry vets to slaughter their animals.

Mr Strang Steel is threatening legal action to stop vets entering his farm.

Robin Spence, who farms at Roberthill near Lockerbie, is one of the farmers involved in the emergency planning team at Ayr.

He knew his 700 sheep would be targeted under the plans to cull all sheep within 3km (1.86 miles) of all infected farms.

But what he didnt expect was a telephone call while sitting in a meeting in Ayr to that say the disease had been confirmed on his farm.

Auctioneers were valuing the stock on Tuesday (20 March).

And although deeply upset, Mr Spence said the confirmation of the disease on his own farm strengthened his conviction that the pre-emptive cull must go ahead.

“I did wonder for a while if we were going to escape, but the fact that we havent is proof that it is spreading,” he told FARMERS WEEKLY.

“We just have to stop it spreading even further.”

It is the second time the Spence family have been hit by foot-and-mouth.

Mr Spences father John he had to slaughter all the stock at Roberthill during Scotlands last outbreak of the disease in 1953.