Flame-throwing hairdryer for cattle

10 April 2001



‘Flame-throwing hairdryer’ for cattle

By Isabel Davies and Johann Tasker

A MOBILE incinerator which looks like a flame-throwing hairdryer is to incinerate livestock culled under foot-and-mouth regulations

The incinerator will be used to dispose of non-infected livestock after another case of the disease was confirmed in North Yorkshire.

A site next to Cambrai Barracks, near Catterick, has been excavated and the first animals are expected to be processed late on Tuesday (10 April).

The incinerator, which was first tried out on a farm two weeks ago, can handle 12 cows per hour, said a Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) spokeswoman.

“It has been described to me as cross between a flame-thrower and a hairdryer. Its very efficient. It doesnt produce much of smoke or pollution.”

MAFF is insisting that the incinerator will only be used to handle uninfected carcasses from livestock culled on farms adjacent to an outbreak.

All vehicles entering the premises will be sealed. The move follows a further case of foot-and-mouth on a cattle and sheep farm in Aysgarth, North Yorkshire.

Elsewhere in the county, the North York Moors National Park Authority is calling for extra vigilance over Easter after a new outbreak at Ruswarp, near Whitby.

That outbreak, at Ashes Farm, means that part of the northeastern corner of the National Park has been defined as an Infected Area.

There were 13 cases of foot-and-mouth in North Yorkshire at 1800hrs on Tuesday (10 April). Hundreds of livestock must be slaughtered.

Precautionary measures are being strengthened and precautions brought in to contain the potential spread of the disease in the Esk Valley and along the coast.

Andy Wilson, Chief Executive of the North York Moors National Park, said: “The National Park Authority is very concerned about this recent development.”

“We are worried about the potential threat to farming livelihoods throughout the North York Moors and the knock-on effects in the tourism industry.”

Ninety-four per cent of access routes in the national park cross farmed land and moorland areas. These routes will remain closed until further notice.

Tourism and Transport Officer Bill Breakell insisted that many attractions and tourism businesses, shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants would remain open.

But he admitted that the more remote public houses, tearooms and villages were suffering as a result of people staying away from the national park.

Mr Breakell said: “Over the Easter holidays we will continue to push the vital message that people can still enjoy the special qualities of the North York Moors.”