Welsh team learn of farmer dissatisfaction

15 February 2002




Welsh team learn of farmer dissatisfaction

ON a visit to Wales the Lessons to be Learned inquiry team was left in no doubt about farmer dissatisfaction with the way the foot-and-mouth disease was handled.

Chairman Iain Anderson heard a catalogue of complaints about appalling communications, poor organisation, and insensitive disregard for the impact of regulations on farms that were not culled.

Many of the 200 people attending a public meeting in Builth Wells alleged that tens of thousands of animals were slaughtered unnecessarily, especially on the island of Anglesey, where 50,000 untested sheep were culled.

Farmer Peter Rogers, who represents the county in the Welsh Assembly and lost his own flock, described the slaughter as "a disgraceful mistake". He said that he and many others doubted whether the disease was present, other than in a lamb that had travelled from Cumbria for slaughter.

Mr Rogers urged the team to reinstate a cancelled visit to the island. Dr Anderson agreed that inquiry secretary Alun Evans would visit and seek the truth.

Powys farmer Ifor Humphreys was one of many who made the case for better management of the strict movement regulations, which he said had resulted in uncompensated losses on many farms.

"The restrictions penalised law abiding farmers, and compensation should be built into plans for controlling future outbreaks," Mr Humphreys claimed.

Ann Morgan, whose family lost all the stock on their farm at Llanelwedd in Powys, complained that vets would not wait for test results before culling. She accused the government of ignoring the recommendations of the inquiry into the last major outbreak, and described union leaders as "yes men" who failed to challenge government policy.

Bill Osborne from the Forest of Dean told Dr Anderson not to preach to farmers about biosecurity in his report. He claimed that the lack of a contingency plan left officials running around like headless chickens spreading the disease.

Dr Anderson said he was aware of a mass of anecdotal information about the handling of the disease, but he needed verifiable facts to get at the truth. &#42


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