Why is Blair against vaccination?
25 June 2001
Why is Blair against vaccination?
TONY Blair claims that he needs the support of the farmers to adopt a
vacination policy. Why? The same Animal Health Act he is using to force
farmers to destroy their lifes work and others to kill healthy animals or
their best friends (just because a pet might be a sheep or a goat does
not make it less “Mans Best Friend” than a dog or any other animal that
comes to trust you), gives him exactly the same rights to enforce a
vaccination policy. But then this would go against his hidden agenda of
reducing national flock numbers wouldnt it
Blair, MAFF and the NFUs
claim to be eliminating the disease as quickly as possible. Why are they
so against vaccination that eliminated the same outbreak in Holland when
we exported it there months ago?
Adrian Hepworth
ythehepworths@bushpark.co.uk
Getting work for the harvest season
I WILL soon graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science in NRM and Agriculture in New Zealand, and am looking at the possibility of coming to the UK for the harvest season of 2002. What are the chances of obtaining work in this area from a global perspective and what would be the rates of pay?
I have sound extensive tractor driving experience both in cultivation and in silage and hay harvesting.
Any thought would be appreciated!
‘Make do and mend’
WE are being forced in becoming a ‘make do and mend’ industry with insufficinet funds for regularly replacing equipment. Is this the right way to go? Any good ways of making the most of this dire situation?
Shooting pests
I LIVE in Birmingham and want to shoot as a pest control and was wondering if you intrested. Visit my site: www.pestcontrol.20megsfree.com.
Disinfected ramblers
IN response to Vicky and Richard Andersons email. Yet another example of how the bodies sent by the MAFF and the Government to carry out the culling have no idea how to handle animals or organise themselves.
Our hearts go out to the Andersons and all the other victims
of this agricultural nightmare. The stories which are filtering back to us about sheer, bungling incompetance are beyond belief.
And now the North Yorkshire County Council have announced that footpaths are to be re-opened under pressure from the Government and the dear old ramblers who, it seems, are entirely unable to transfer infection from one field to another like the rest of us mortals.
Perhaps we should ask them how they do it, because we have had no unnecessary visitors since the beginning of the outbreak for fear of infection. Maybe we should all join
the disinfected ramblers.
Heartbreak of a bungled cull
THIS is a copy of an e-mail I have sent our contacts to try to explain what has happend to us over the past two days, as we are finding it too hard to talk about, and frankly are disgusted at the way we were treated.
Yesterday we had 18 of our 22 pedigree rare breed Dexter cattle culled due to neighbouring a foot-and-nouth outbreak.
The fact that over 10,000 animals have been culled just in the East Harlsey area over the last 3-4 days, or the fact that it is right on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors is obviously not newsworthy – or maybe DEFRA find the change in their name more exciting than informing the public.
As you may or may not know, these cattle had been bred by Richard and myself over the past 12 years and built up from one calf that we hand-reared.
This cow was a part of this cull yesterday, and they were all known to us by name.
This episode has caused us the most pain and distress one could ever imagine, as the whole process has been a shambles from start to finish with no organisation or communication, although I am not sure it has finished yet.
We still have four cattle left at home.
From having to try and convince the Ministry that our cattle were in a field that was contiguous, the final most horrific part of them hiring a marksman to shoot them in the field.
Following the preliminary, and what I thought initially to be the most distressing, part of walking round a field naming and valuing your cows prior to the slaughter, they started the process of trying to slaughter them at 3pm on Tuesday.
There followed five hours of chasing them round the field trying to get them into a pen that was way too small in a corner of the field where there are lorries, JCBs and up to 10 cars, people and disinfection trucks waiting, with Richard failing to convince them that if it was done quietly and calmly without all these people around, the cows may come near.
Finally three cows pushed through the fence on to the road, followed in hot pursuit by a slaughterman with a rifle, pointing the gun across the road while traffic was coming down the road, as there are not enough army personnel around to closew the road.
One of the more senior vets – we by this time had three – then overruled Richard and said they would have to have a marksman in the morning as by this time it was 8pm.
She would not hear of three or four of them going early to try and pen them up while it was quiet in the morning.
Again, as you may or may not know, most of our cattle, although a bit skittish, were quite friendly and I do feel it excessive to have had to shoot them like wild animals.
Also, the field they were in is right on the edge of the village with a row of peoples gardens backing on to it, and all these villagers had come to know our cattle and also found them quite friendly.
To add insult to injury, while I was at home yesterday morning as I did not wish to be at the field, I had a phone call from a foreign vet at Newcastles Disease Control Centre to ask if he could come and see my 22
cattle.
When I informed him in a somewhat hysterical manner that
they were in the process of killing 18 of them he seemed quite surprised.
As you will understand, we are both extremely upset and distressed by these events and are in the process of making a formal complaint to Newcastle.
I have written this in the hope that you will understand why we may be a little distant as we are very upset and finding it difficult to come to terms with how we and the animals were treated.
Vicky and Richard Anderson, East Harlsey, Northallerton, North Yorkshire
vicky.anderson@farmersweekly.net
What test for BSE?
FROM the USA, one would think British animal health was in the hands of the mad.
Latest cause for concern is the testing of younger animals for BSE (Euro-vets to lower at-risk cattle age, FWi, 13 June, 2001).
What are they using as a test? Gross tissue changes; the only “testing” so far suggested is invalid in adults and impossible in the young.
Dave Forth, Wing, North Dakota, USA
heruteu@bektel.com
Europes been good for us
IN response to Mr Dick Lindley of Birkwood Farm, (my Dad) (What about the Euro, NFU? FWi Open Forum) I would just like to point out a few facts that seem to
have gone unmentioned by him.
While I agree most farmers do not want the Euro, and I include myself in that statement, the Euro and European Union may be the best thing out for British agriculture.
And far from the Euro de-valuing farmers assets and eroding their wealth and way of life, I beleive just the opposite.
After all, look at the CAP. The Common Agricultural Policy, since its inception back in the 80s, has had a major effect on farming income and asset value.
The CAP has succesfully protected farmland prices, frozen up the dairy market through quotas, indeed handed over a hugely valuable asset to the farmer that is both rented and traded.
It has in fact protected the “older” farmer from the “younger” farmer like me.
It has ensured that not through good business sense nor good business practice do farmers continue farming until they die. No, it is through protection and subsidy ensuring true market values can not impinge on the farming income.
It is complete rubbish. What we should campaign for is abolition of CAP, with a real free and fair marketplace for all, and then let those that can, prosper, and those that cant, fall by the wayside.
If my Dad, and the others that think like him feel so passionately about fighting the Euro and the European Union, why not contribute all their IACS payments and subsidy cheques to the Referendum Party so they can try to effectively fight their battle.
Or is it all just talk?
Chris Lindley
Chrislindley@hotmail.com
AFTER reading the results of the survey by one of Britains leading banking organisation, as confirmed by your recent news item, it is to be hoped that Ben Gill and the NFU ruling Council will take note that the vast majority of British farmers are absolutely opposed to giving up
our own superb currency in favour of the failing Mickey-Mouse Euro (Two-thirds of farmers against Euro, FWi, 11 June, 2001).
Perhaps now we can have some statement by the NFU on their future policy regarding this vital issue.
Not only will joining a cascading Euro ruin the value of all our assets and bank accounts, but it will deliver the whole accumulated wealth of this great nation into the clutches of our continental cousins, who are hell-bent on creating the Fourth Reich, making Adolph Hitlers dream of a Teutonic United Europe from the Urals to the Atlantic a reality.
Dick Lindley, Birkwood Farm, Normanton, W Yorkshire
dicklindley@birkwood.fsbusiness.co.uk
Watch out for Beckett
MARGARET BECKETT – now farmings in trouble. Hang up your boots, boys, its time to retire.
Sentimental value
WOULD anyone out there have a Leyland/Marshall tractor brochure with the 802/04 range in it? I lost one of these during a move and for sentimental reasons would like to get one.
jcnicholl@jcn27.freeserve.co.uk