MAFF mismanagement was main cause of F&M spread
MAFF mismanagement was main cause of F&M spread
By FWreporters
A LACK of leadership and resources meant last years foot-and-mouth epidemic was allowed to spread, the public inquiry into the crisis in Cumbria has been told. But farmers themselves were also to blame, said Brigadier Alex Birtwistle, the soldier who led the Armys fight against the disease in the county.
Four days of hearings at Cumbria County Councils offices in Kendal are due to end today (May 10). The nine-strong inquiry team will then embark on a tour of farms, rural communities and businesses across the country before resuming for a further four-days of hearings at Carlisle later this month.
Brigadier Birtwistle, who is now retired, opened the evidence on Tue, May 7. A lack of management, leadership and resources resulted in major failures to control the disease during the first three weeks of the outbreak, he said. "It was taking four to five days between identifying infected animals and having them, slaughtered."
There was an acute shortage of guns and trucks and a backlog of dead animals awaiting disposal, said Brigadier Birtwistle. "I was told it was 50,000 head of stock, but it was more like twice that. Some had been lying there for three weeks after slaughter."
Cumbria – the county worst hit by the disease – suffered 893 of Britains 2030 confirmed F&M cases during last years epidemic. But no risk assessment had been carried out at national or regional level, Brigadier Birtwistle told the inquiry team.
"All crises contain risks and here we were facing risks to public health and the environment. The problems of F&M needed to be prioritised, owned, and dealt with. Two-thirds of these risks were not being addressed, simply because of a shortage of resources. We had to prioritise diagnosis, destruction, disposal and disinfection."
But farmers were also to blame, Brigadier Birtwistle added. Some producers helped spread the disease through "sheer idleness", he said. There were only 130 soldiers fighting the disease. *
Brigadier Birtwistle… shortage of guns and trucks and a backlog of dead animals.