Politicians have failed to learn vital lessons

22 February 2002




Politicians have failed to learn vital lessons

RICHARD Tutton is preparing to lamb the 717 ewes that replaced the 1500 ewes and lambs culled at Buttington Hall Farm, Welshpool, on Mar 28 last year.

If the scanner did an accurate job and lambing goes smoothly, he should have 1264 lambs to finish on 153ha (380 acres) of rented land running up from the floor of the Severn Valley to 345m (1150ft).

While it has not persuaded him to quit livestock farming, Mr Tutton is sure that foot-and-mouth disease will be back.

"The fact that almost nothing has been done to stop illegal imports of meat, or to ban legal shipments from countries where the disease is endemic, means that the politicians have not learned any lessons.

"I have lived in Australia and my brother farms in New Zealand. The governments of both countries really value their livestock industries and do everything possible to keep out diseases. In this country cost cutting and political correctness are allowing tonnes of bush meat to be imported in suitcases every week.

"Until we have the courage to follow Australias example there is a real danger of F&M, or some other disease, entering the UK."

Mr Tuttons experiences during the epidemic left him traumatised and very angry. Seeing his stock shot and buried was bad enough, but five weeks later they had to be dug up again and burned.

"Heavy rain raised the water table and material started bubbling out of the ground. In two days contractors built a pyre using 600 railway sleepers, hundreds of pallets and tonnes of coal."

Over 1000t of hardcore was laid to provide access for heavy equipment, but environmental health officers stopped the burn on public health grounds.

Instead a mobile, pallet fuelled incinerator was brought in and the carcasses were burned a few at a time over three days.

"I have absolutely no complaints about the contractors or the local vets and civil servants, they all did very professional jobs. But they were hampered and delayed by constantly having to refer to MAFF in London for decisions. If we ever get another major disease outbreak the people on the ground must be given far greater decision making powers." &#42


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