Now fingers are crossed that enough is done
Now fingers are crossed that enough is done
FARMERS are hoping that the measures introduced by MAFF to control the spread of foot-and-mouth will be enough to stop the disease in its tracks.
Fingers are crossed that the disease can be isolated in the same way it was in the last outbreak on the Isle of Wight in 1981. In that instance only 200 cattle and 369 pigs had to be slaughtered.
It came as a huge relief to producers who had feared they would see a repeat of the devastation they experienced when the disease last took hold in 1967.
Then it took five months and the destruction and disposal of over 440,000 animals before the disease was brought back under control.
It cost the UK Treasury an estimated £150 million in slaughter costs and lost sales plus an extra £27 million in compensation to farmers.
First identified
The disease was first identified in 1967 on a farm in Oswestry in Shropshire but it quickly spread. By the time the disease was stamped out 2,364 outbreaks had been confirmed.
Any farmers affected have not forgotten the horror of destroying the herds of sheep and cattle they had invested so much time and money in.
Once the disease was confirmed the procedure was to slaughter all the animals on the farm, burn them and then bury the remains.
Robert Davies, FARMERS WEEKLYS Wales correspondent recalls the drive to Oswestry for a daily briefing with MAFF to find out the latest developments.
"There were clouds of choking, black smoke billowing from the burning carcasses as you drove around the countryside," he said.
Not affected
Producers who were not affected devoted their time and effort to minimising the risk of the disease spreading to their farms.
Although no one was too sure at the time how the disease was being spread they lay out straw soaked in disinfectant at busy road junctions and county boundaries.
It turned out to be a sensible precaution – over thirty years later MAFF is advising that the virus may be picked up and carried on the wheels of passing vehicles such as delivery lorries and milk tankers.