Start to pre-emptive cull is a shambles
Start to pre-emptive cull is a shambles
THE first day of a pre-emptive cull of 40,000 sheep on Anglesey was described as a shambles by the Farmers Union of Wales, and a farce by Peter Rogers a local farmer and National Assembly member.
The night before killing was scheduled to start the County Council refused permission for carcasses to be buried on a landfill site at Menai Bridge.
No abattoir contract
Then officials discovered that the abattoir at Gaerwen, where the slaughtering was due to take place, could not be awarded the contract to do the work until a site for burning or burying carcasses was agreed.
As the farmers ordered to deliver stock to the plant started arriving others were telephoned and told to stay at home.
By the end of the day only 700 of the 2000 ewes that should have been killed were ready to be transported to a disused airfield at Mona for incineration by the Army.
When the location for carcass destruction was announced farming unions and local residents immediately protested against the use of a clean area close to the county showground, and farmer Cai Eithyn began legal action to stop the burn.
Peter Rogers, who will lose his 3500 sheep in the cull, accused the coalition majority in the Cardiff assembly of causing chaos, distress and anger by the incompetent way they were handling the emergency.
Bob Parry, president of the Farmers Union of Wales, said it beggared belief that the cull was ordered before the infrastructure for doing it was in place. *