I know this must seem a very clichéed picture to most of you. But when it's
your farm it's anything but a cliché.
My brother Chris has made me some posters. Download them, copy them, design your own. Adapt them as car stickers. He's adapted my gate photo for me! Also on his page are very good links.
I have just moved all my other links on foot-and-mouth
to a separate page.
Lucy Wilson, age 14, is the daughter of friends who farm a few miles away.
Here is her poem.
Cathy is a sheep farmer with a prize winning flock of pedigree Lleyn sheep
in South Devon. She has been sending me wonderfuly heartening emails, full
of hope and faith and stories of her animals. Click here
to read them.
"FOR EVIL TO TRIUMPH, ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING."
1st June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 7,832. 40 more farms. 22,000 more animals killed. MAFF have been posting a similar message for some time.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Thursady 31 May
3,207,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,168,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (491,000 cattle, 2,553,000 sheep,
123,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
38,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
* The significant reduction (from 30 to 31 May) in recorded animals awaiting slaughter and disposal is due primarily to an overnight exercise to enter outstanding retrospective data. Reports from the regional offices suggest that these figures are overstated and that there is no significant backlog of either slaughterings or disposals (see below). Work to speed up data collection is continuing and we expect that the statisitics will soon catch up with the reality on the ground.
Actual figures reported by regional offices for animals awaiting slaughter and disposal are below:
Region Animals awaiting slaughter Great Britain 7,800 Animals awaiting disposal
1,900
Of which, animals awaiting slaughter pending appeal: England - 2,473, Wales - 130
This is making my head go round. Sorry, everyone, I feel suddenly very tired and I can't think straight. We're still trying to find someone to shear our sheep. There's a good article in the Telegraph "Vaccination 'must be the bedrock of fighting virus".
2nd June
From Nicola Morris
Farmers for Livestock
Tel 01905 345 248
Foot and Mouth Truth Rallies
On Sunday 3rd June
Venues: Worcester, Exeter, Carlisle, Llandrindod Wells
We believe that a lot of unnecessary heartache and devastation has been caused
to the rural community throughout the FMD crisis. It is unlikely that the
rural community will ever find out the true extent of the unnecessary slaughter,
as a public inquiry is unlikely to occur after June 7th.
We have organised 4 FMD Truth Rallys across the country at the main MAFF control
centres; the aim of each rally is to request that the Ministry provides us
with detailed information regarding the foot and mouth disease control policy
in each area.
The Rallys have the backing of the Heart of England Campaign, we are inviting
members of the public to support the Rallys.
The Southwest rally will start at 12.00 noon on Sunday 3rd of June from Winslade
Park, Clyst St Mary.
Please support your local FMD Truth Rally.
Thank You
Will farmers please make sure they carry out full Bio-security precautions
as per MAFF instructions before and after attending the rallies.
If any Farmers feel unable to attend themselves, why not ask a friend or non-farming
family member to attend on their behalf carrying a placard saying I am here
representing Farmer xxx who is unable to attend due to foot and mouth.
Any further details contact the above number.
We will try and be there. If we're going to be organised enough, I'll have
to go to bed early, so I won't write much now.
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 7,843. 11 more farms. There have ben 11 more cases since the 2 yesterday. The slaughter figures will go up. Now just 6,000 more killed, 3,000 sheep and nothing else! Doesn't add up again.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Friday 1 June
3,212,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,174,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (491,000 cattle, 2,556,000 sheep,
123,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
38,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
In yesterday's Guardian "FARMERS must shoulder much of the blame for the foot-and-mouth epidemic claims Lord Haskins, the Blairite chairman of Northern Foods." But he doesn't say how they have been responsible. His company have made profits of £104 million on producing processed convenience foods. Today the Guardian is talking about the rise in cases.
Our visitors have just left. I will miss the afternoon gathering
on the wall outside the kitchen. The dogs will miss them too. The cats will
probably be pleased to be able to lie in peace in the sun!
I think we have got a shearer organised for the week after next. That's a relief. We'll have to bring the hoggs back up to the farm and that will mean another visit from a vet to licence them. We'll move Daisy and Primrose over the road at the same time.
I've just been sent an email which I will print in full.
From Mrs E.Jane M. Barribal - 2 Howpark Farm Cottages - Grantshouse
- Duns Berwickshire - TD11 3RP
Tel: 01361-850282 - e-mail: farmtalking@aol.com - www.farmtalking.com - Fax:
01361-850680
PRESS RELEASE
From the Boss to the man in Charge - 2nd June 2001
It was a few weeks ago that I had telephone conversations with Mr. Roger Eddy, the President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
At that time I was most concerned that Veterinary Surgeons signing
the 'A' form for the slaughter of healthy animals, were signing a 'false certificate',
an offence for which they could be struck off.
The President, confirmed this was so and told me that he had contacted the
Chief Vet, Mr. Scudamore, who was consulting with the MAFF Lawyers concerning
the matter. He further confirmed that when he had a reply from the Chief Vet,
he intended to write to Veterinary Surgeons involved and would let me have
a copy of his letter. I am still waiting.
However, it would seem the President has not been idle in the interim. I have received a copy of a letter he sent to the Prime Minister, as long ago as the 20th April. I do wonder if he also, is still waiting for a reply.
20th April 2001
Dear Prime Minister,
You may be aware that the current policy of culling all livestock on premises contiguous to farms where Foot and Mouth Disease is confirmed is causing extreme distress to a large number of veterinary surgeons working as Temporary Veterinary Inspectors (TVIs) in Cumbria, Scotland, County Durham and in Devon. It would appear that the definition of contiguous premises is made centrally with no local assessment being made of the actual risks involved. One ludicrous example brought to my attention yesterday was where animals were slaughtered which were six miles away from the Infected Premises (IP) just because the two holdings shared a field boundary.
This policy has undoubtedly resulted in thousands of healthy animals being slaughtered unnecessarily when there has been little or no risk of them being infected. I urge that the Divisional Veterinary Managers (DVMs), following a local risk assessment, are allowed to make decisions on which contiguous premises are slaughtered. Surely the reason the State Veterinary Service employs veterinary surgeons in its Divisions is to make decisions regarding disease control based on local risk? Such risk assessment could be completed very quickly by the Veterinary Officer on the IP or by the DVM. I understand that the need to slaughter contiguous premises within 48 hours is not essential for control of the epidemic and as long as at risk farms are killed out within 4 or 5 days there is no likelihood of significantly increasing the risk of the infection spreading.
I am very concerned that the large army of volunteer veterinary surgeons currently working as TVIs are becoming disillusioned at the centralised decision making processes, many of which are not made by veterinarians, and that MAFF is in grave danger of losing this goodwill which is so freely given. The effect this would have on disease control and animal welfare is too horrific to contemplate.
Yours sincerely,
R G Eddy
President
Cc: Baroness Hayman, Minister of State for MAFF
Professor King, Chief Scientific Advisor
Mr Scudamore, Chief Veterinary Officer
British Veterinary Association
RCVS Council Members
Veterinary Record
Veterinary Times
There can be no legal reason to kill a healthy farm animal other than 'slaughter for consumption' and we have strict laws that govern that operation. However, we have all witnessed the total disregard for the Laws governing Slaughter over the past few weeks.
The President draws attention to the extreme distress of a large number of TVI's involved in the slaughter of healthy animals on contiguous farms. Caused by the definition of such farms being decided centrally.
I presume he means the decision is taken by the MAFF Civil Servants
in Page
Street. No wonder they ordered the slaughter of animals six miles away from
their home farm just because of a shared field boundary. I have to ask why
didn't the DVM refuse to comply?
The President also points out that thousands of healthy animals have been slaughtered with little or no risk of infection.
Surely the figure is closer to millions of animals, or does the President mistakenly believe the MAFF's massaged figures?
The President enquires why Veterinary Surgeons are not being used for local risk assessments and adds that the need to slaughter on contiguous premises within 48 hours is not essential.
If not essential why are they doing it at all? Surely the need to slaughter on contiguous farms is completely unnecessary when a perfectly good vaccine is available for those farmers who might choose to use it.
The President claims that the Veterinary TVI's are becoming disillusioned and the MAFF is in grave danger of losing their goodwill.
That is a slight relief. The sooner they all go home and try to recover their clients list the better. I am not the only one who would never allow a former TVI to treat my animals. Thank goodness there are one or two Veterinary Surgeons left in this God forsaken Country who have not indulged in this murder for profit.
The Government has introduced policies to control a virus that have caused ruination to country based industry, turned good men to evil tasks and so broken the spirit of others that they have taken their own lives. 'An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent' Edmund Burke 1789
I find it sad that the Boss of the R.C.V.S. is still convinced that an FMD free status can, and indeed must, be achieved. For that reason he is pleading with The Man in Charge for a slightly more humane but nevertheless continuation of the policy.
As citizens were are bound by the rule of Law. What gives our Government the right to break those Laws in favour of a Policy treated as a Law? Policy is not Law.
Both the Boss and the Man in Charge might give some thought to the words of Edmund Burke in his letter to Charles James Fox of the 8th October 1777. It may not be long before they become reality.
"People crushed by law have no hopes but from power.
If laws are their enemies
they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing
to lose, will always be dangerous, more or less."
The time has come to be brave. The President and the Prime Minister should call a halt to the slaughter of healthy animals. Withdraw the Vets and the Troops. Admit the policy was wrong and help the people affected to rebuild their lives.
If they do not have the courage to admit their mistakes, I fear the bravery of the people may overtake them.
Jane Barribal - 2nd June 2001
3rd June
I think we're off to Exeter in an hour. Just read this on FWi : "Our people in the field compile the statistics that we need to combat this disease, and the number of calves and lambs slaughtered is not relevant." A MAFF spokesman saying why they have not included lambs and calves in teh statistics. Hundreds of thousands of young livestock are excluded. "The figures we publish do not include lambs and calves," he said. The spokesman added: "Animals that can't stand on their own feet are not counted because they might have died anyway." Why? How many lambs and calves does he think we farmers kill every day?
Daisy's calf which is "not relevant"
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 7,884. 6 more cases today. One of yesterday's is in Devon. For cumbria and yorkshire there doesn't seem to be any repite.
41 more farms. 15,000 more killed.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Saturday 2 June
3,228,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,189,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (496,000 cattle, 2,568,000 sheep,
123,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
39,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
The turnout for the demonstration in Exeter was disappointing. We arrived late, and nearly didn't get to it, as we were looking for great crowds, which weren't there. We almost didn't go, as we thought 2 more wouldn't make much difference. It was a bit scary being close to other farmers. We had a major disinfection both going and coming home.
We had a chat with the 2 policeman who were having to wait for us to disperse. One of the speakers was saying how the police should be ashamed of themselves. I don't think it's that simple. I think the people of this country who have not protested in anyway (except to tut, tut, to their friends, maybe) and who haven't let the politicians know how they feel, should be ashamed. If you are reading this,at least send TB an email if you haven't done so already. The piece I put up here yesterday from Jane Baribal was condemning all TVI's but I know that there are many TVI's who feel they are helping to prevent the spread of a very nasty disease - and it is nasty. They are mistaken. I feel strongly that we should be allowed to vaccinate, but I cannot believe they are all killing for evil motives. One of the policemen I was talking to genuinely believed the propoganda put out by MAFF and Blair etc, that the contiguous cull is necessary. I hope I convinced him otherwise, and at least gave him something to think about.
This has just arrived in my inbox:
URGENT NEWS JUST IN
The telephone line suddenly grew hot this evening with news of events at Town Close Farm, Knowstone. This is the Wilmot's land, that was run across by the panicking limousin bullocks during the bungled slaughter attempt three weeks ago. The hundred-odd sheep that were "in contact" with these bullocks were slaughtered by agreement (owned by a third party, on keep at Town Close Farm) but the Wilmot's cattle were saved at the High Court by Alayne Addy -
BUT guess what? MAFF have suddenly produced blood test results on the slaughtered
sheep (from three weeks ago) showing that ONE was positive. They have therefore
declared the farm an Infected Premises and arrived in force today to slaughter
the cattle. Alayne has been through all the legal arguments with MAFF i.e.
more than 21 days, one out of a hundred-plus is not a sufficient sample, no
tests on the cattle etc. but they remain adamant
that they have the right to kill, not only these cattle, but the five contiguous
farms as well!
Fortunately John Gouriet and supporters from the protest march in Exeter today transferred to the scene late this afternoon. Alongside strong support from the local villagers, they were able to turn back the combined army, police and MAFF prescence by blocking the only access and by powerful argument. No-one can predict what will happen tomorrow - certainly there will be furious legal activity but the first priority is to hold the farm gate against entry.
PLEASE turn up in person if you possibly can tomorrow, any time from dawn
onwards - we must prevent this disaster from happening until at least all
the legal avenues have all been exhausted. If this farm can be saved, then
so can the contiguous ones. Town Close Farm is within half-a-mile of the
Winslades at Beech Grove Farm (close to Owlaborough Farm that is marked on
the Ordnance Survey map).
Looking East to Dartmoor this afternoon. Walking over the fields to Higher
Racks to check the ewes and lambs, it was difficult to think the Wilmot's
were fighting to keep their cattle. I was longing to go and help, but too
frightened of being that close to possible infection. I'm wondering now if
I should have gone anyway. But then I think of my neighbours, and what infection
here would mean to them.
More about Professor Anderson in Private Eye this week: "...Blair's favourite academic, Prof Roy Anderson.., who created the computer model used by MAFF to claim that the number of foot and mouth cases would fall to zero by 7 June, thus allowing the PM to call an electionfor that very date........Back in 1987 Anderson was invited by norway's PM, Brundtland, to help produce an "independent assessment" of how many minke whales Norwegians could sustainably kill every year......The IWC had introduced a moratorium.....Brundtland feared would lose her support... Surprise, surprise...Anderson etc came up with exactly the figure - 200 whales - which the whalers thought thye needed to make a profit. ....... A mathematical biologist on the IWC's scientific committee went through the algebra and discovered "fundamental flaws in the methodology": Anderson and his chums had achieved the result Brundtland wanted, ie a "safe" catch of 200, only by creating wholly unreal (indeed "impossible") parameters........." I've left some gaps, but that is the gist of it. The more I hear of that man, the more unpleasant he seems.
Look at the warmwell site for more newspaper links, including a story from the Sunday Telegraph about shooting calves from a four wheel drive vehicle. Why is there nothing about this being raised in relation to the election?
4th June
The Wilmot's farm was broken into in the early hours of this morning. Go to this link. ......"a lot of police and MAFF officials broke through the barricades at dawn. I also understand that Mr Phillips, the next door neighbour, is now fighting contiguous. Having lost his wife,who bred the sheep,to cancer this week, he now faces MAFF killing them too"
An interesting and plausible prediction here about more killing. Another email: "A neighbour of ours,....., has tried to book a holiday in July in the only Hotel in UNST one of the Shetland Isles. Unfortunately, to his great surprise, he was unable to obtain a booking for July. He was informed by the Hotel that it has been completely booked by MAFF for the month of July." Is it any wonder that there are so many rumours of culling starting up with a vengeance after the election?
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 7,900. Only 6 more farms. I don't think that can be right. There was an average of 6 cases a day for the week ending Sunday 3rd June. They killed 14,000 a day (by their figures). Only 2,000 more animals killed yesterday. 1,000 cattle and 2,000 sheep. I do wish they had more respect for our intelligence. It's an easy sum today, don't they expect us to be able to get it right?.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Sunday 2 June
3,232,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,191,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (497,000 cattle, 2,570,000 sheep,
123,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
41,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
More about Anderson. An email today from Andrew Stephens BVetMed MRCVS. ( http://www.mediavets.co.uk ). I'veput more on this link.
"......... but ask yourself how he managed to become such a dominant figure WRT FMD cull policy.
The evidence suggests he had 'help' from Sir Robert May (President of the
Royal Society and previous Govt Chief Scientist), Sir John Krebs (Head of
the Food Standards Agency and well know enthusiast for GM) and Prof David
King (Chief Scientist).
All 4 are Fellows of the Royal Society - which appears to operate as a kind
of scientific Freemasonry - and May, Krebs and Anderson were all Profs in
the same Dept and Oxford University prior to the Anderson scandals that led
Anderson and large numbers of 'hangers on' to decamp to Imperial College
last year. May and Krebs receive(d) Royal Society Research Professorships.
Anderson and Krebs are widely 'seen' as May's protegees, and King almost
certainly owes his position as Chief Scientist to May, as does Krebs WRT
his appointment as Head of the Food Standards Agency.
Begin to get the 'picture'?
Regards
Andrew"
I've never seen such a clean tractor wheel before.
We've been cutting silage (taking turns, between cutting and doing other jobs). James spent 2 hours pressure washing the tractor before taking it up the road. It did have quite a bit of muck on it. James is a perfectionist, and the tractor was amazingly clean by the time he'd finished. But how do farmers manage who have to do this every day, and who are having to drive into muddy overstocked fields to take fodder to stranded stock? There aren't enough hours in the day. Cutting the grass took me back to this time last year. We'd had a dreadful May, but the weather was on the mend. Our daughter Mary had just got married to Richard (yesterday was their first wedding anniversary) and we'd had a wonderful wedding. I'd been enjoying cutting grass and marvelling at how wonderfully God had provided for us, thinking ahead to how we would be able to feed our stock in the winter. And then through this awful spring, after the wettest autumn we had ever seen (one of my sisters has still not been able to return to her badly flooded house, and Mary and Richard had their new home flooded too) I had looked back on last summer's grass cutting and taken comfort from the thought of the cycle of life and how "all will be well and all manner of thing will be well". Not quite sure where I've got to there! Oh just that it's good to be cutting grass again, and it's so beautiful, both as it's standing and moving in the breeze and as it's lying in swathes. And it feel sso right to be providing for the winter again, even thouth we can't be sure we will have any stock then. The evil of this culling can't take away from the essential rightness of life
.
Looking out of the tractor towards Bodmin Moor, about 7.00 pm.
5th June
Hawthorn blossom in the hedges
I forgot to put this link to Matt Ridley's excellent article in the Telegraph yesterday . I've been listening to the news this morning, and foot-and-mouth and this governments handling of it is not an issue at all. It's unbelievable. Matt ridley says it much better than I can. "HOW easily we all become inured to horror. Imagine if somebody had told you in February that by early June, the Government would have slaughtered more than three million livestock on 7,700 farms; that it would still be slaughtering them at the rate of up to 80,000 a day; that all across the north and west of the country, the tourist industry would be in ruins; and that this same Government would be coasting to victory in the general election. You would have refused to believe them. Foot and mouth is still rampant. It has opened new fronts in Lancashire, Cheshire and North Yorkshire. Yet it is not even an issue in the election. The media's brief attention span has switched elsewhere and the public's sense of horror has dulled. Who cares if a bunch of Cumbrians have lost their living? It is probably their own fault for not having diversified into growing organic aubergines anyway......................"
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 7,934. 34 more farms but "only"4,000
more killed. Isn't it extraordinary that I can say "only"? On this
farm, MAFF wqould count less than 200 animals. The number killed yesterday
is 20 times our farm.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Monday 4June
· 3,238,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,195,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (497,000 cattle, 2,572,000
sheep, 124,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 41,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
From Cumbria "There is a great fear of what will happen once this General Election is over, contractors were given a holiday for the run up and told they will be as busy as ever after the election. Local hotels and B&B are booked up. And No - no one is listening -......" See the article in the Guardian. Hague is finally saying something, but I'm afraid he's only saying it in a desperate attempt to get more votes. He should have been giving them hell about the cull for weeks.
Listen to Jim Scudamore on the today programme. It's very frustrating not being able to join in and argue. He doesn't talk about killing, just "removing".
We got our silage baled and wrapped just before the rain came in. Brilliant! I've been doing various things, including paperwork, and there's too much to say, and I'm tired and I'm finding I have to keep correcting what I've typed so I'll stop now. I went to Bible study for the first time since early February tonight. It was lovely to be warmly welcomed, but this was the last meeting till September.
Patch is missing the children.
6th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 7,958. 34 more farms. 25,000 more killed.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Tuesday 5 June
· 3,263,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,220,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (503,000 cattle, 2,591,000
sheep, 124,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 43,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
From BBC Devon "An entire Devon village is preparing to sue the Ministry of Agriculture over its handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
The news comes as the Ministry faced further embarrassment when
animals destined for slaughter as part of the contiguous cull escaped into
open countryside.
The protest underlines the anger felt by the people of Knowstone at the Ministry
of Agriculture's attempts to cull apparently healthy animals. Now they are
heading for the courts
The villagers say they want to claim damages for losses, disruption and distress as a result of the actions of Ministry officials.
There have been three standoffs to try to keep out the slaughtermen, two to no avail. The third at land belonging to 43-year old Steve Phillips continues.
Bill Norman, chairman of Knowstone Parish Council said it was
hard to express how angry people felt: Residents have maintained a vigil against
Maff's actions
"We've just had enough of the bullying and the awful things that have
happened in the parish - animals shot and not dispatched properly."
They are particularly angered by an incident three weeks ago in which several bullocks were chased by soldiers and officials in the area after escaping a cull. Some residents are convinced the latest outbreaks of foot-and-mouth in the Knowstone area can be traced back to when the bullocks were running loose.
Yesterday Maff suffered further humiliation when a sheep which escaped from a farm at Knowstone before it could be slaughtered was hunted down and shot. It is believed the animal was loose in the area for more than 12 hours.
Ministry officials said the latest escape presented no threat to other animals because the cull was just a precautionary measure.
Regional Director of the NFU, Anthony Gibson visited Knowstone last night. He says he can understand the villagers anxst. He says that it's now understood that when the soldiers followed the escaped ewe into woods that they also discovered a bullock from the previous bungled cull, three weeks ago.
Mr Gibson says he feels sure there will be a public enquiry after the election about the way the foot-and-mouth crisis has been handled by Maff. "
Steve Phillips is trying to stop the culling of his partner's sheep. She died of cancer last Wednesday. If MAFF admits this cull is just "a precautionary measure" , how can they justify the hounding of a bereaved man with small children? Look at the MAFF site. They deny the rumours of an extended cull after the election. Killing will carry on as normal :
"The Ministry's policy is to slaughter infected animals within 24 hours of confirmation and on neighbouring holdings for animals to be slaughtered within 48 hours; animals on holdings considered to have close contact with those infected are slaughtered as dangerous contacts. It is this regime which has led to the decline in the outbreak and the Ministry, backed by its advisers, believes this will bring about the eradication of the disease. There are no plans for large-scale increases in the slaughter regime and no planning of a strategic or practical nature for widespread culling of animals although, of course, the Ministry keeps under constant review its policies in the light of new information." But on another page of their site ypu can see that the 24 hour slaughter is not and has not been kept to. They don't give the statistics for the contiguous cull, but that is very unlikely to be taking place in 48 hours in most cases. So how can a regime that is not being kept to, be leading to the "decline in the outbreak"?
Looking down on the house from Slade on the 3rd june.
I have been out all day at a meeting for the South West Farm Holiday group. The meeting was on a members farm, but they are arable with no livestock. If you need a break go to one of the farms on their site. The Farm Stay group are a brilliant group of farmers who provide really quality accommodation and a warm welcome. I myself am only a member of the Cornwall group at the moment, but I will be joining them. Farm Holidays have been very badly hit across the country by foot-and-mouth, but particularly in Cumbria and Devon. Whenever we manage a night or so away we try and stay in a farm B& B. Try it yourself!
I have been out all day so I'll write more tomorrow.
A report in FWi , on FMD being spread, "The vet, who asked not to be named, said it may be impossible to trace the spread of the disease, as no one knows if the slaughtered animals were infected. Unsupervised culling took place on farms neighbouring existing outbreaks and on premises where stock were classified as dangerous contacts, he claimed. "This is very serious," he said. "If you don't know whether the animals are infected, how will you know which area will be infected next?"
7th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 7,958. they've updated their other figures,
not the list of farms, but the NFU say that 8,000 farms are now affected.
They have killed another 10,000 animals.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Wednesday 6 June
· 3,271,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,230,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (505,000 cattle, 2,599,000
sheep, 124,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 42,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
NFU President Ben Gill said: "Farmers everywhere must continue to think twice - every time they leave their farm, every time they inspect their stock, every time people visit them. It is a horrible routine to have to observe but, in the long run, it is better than losing everything and prolonging the spread of the disease of the disease." I have been feeling really depressed all day, before reading this. FMD is going on and on and yet it's so unreal. We are trying to get stock off. We are trying to farm. The rest of the world is carrying on as if nothing is wrong. FMD isn't even an election issue. I'm finding it very hard living under a constant threat, always worried. It's been so long. And yet it's been easy for us compared to so many others. We are some of the lucky ones. It's been a lovely afternoon and we've been busy moving animals around. Polly had a lovely bull calf this afternoon. Hermia is being a pest and drinking milk off the other cows. I'll have to get a spiky thing to go on her nose tomorrow.
James and foxgloves below the woods.
Then the NFU Bulletin has arrived. "Cattle and sheep are being culled this evening on a farm at North Newton near Bridgwater. MAFF will only cull livestock on neighbouring farms and declare an Infected Area if the tests are positive. Vets are investigating possible links but at the moment they know of no contact between the farm and other cases. The farm is roughly 14 miles from Wiveliscombe and 15 miles from Biddisham.
We recommend that farmers in North Newton and surrounding parishes should assume the worst (but obviously hope for the best). This means that all vehicles must be cleaned and disinfected before they leave the farm. Clothing and footwear should be changed, and exposed skin washed, after handling livestock. We urge farmers in the area to stop all non-essential movement onto their farm, particularly of agricultural vehicles and people connected with livestock, until the results of the tests are known"
It's knowing that it can arrive seemingly out of the blue. Please everybody write to whoever is in power tomorrow and demand that we be allowed to vaccinate our animals. Already, by MAFF's figures they have killed 5% of cattle and 12% of sheep in the country. These are the breeding stock. By the time they've finished blood-testing and destroying any flocks with any anti-bodies, what will be left?
An excellent article in the Guardian by Alan Beat who is a smallholder just North of Launceston. Again raising the question of the validity of the models used by Anderson et al.
Really depressing listening to the news now. It looks as though Blair will be re-elected with a huge majority as planned. Just hope they're wrong.
8th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 8,021. Another 63 farms. How can it be, that 10% of our livestock farms have lost all their animals, and the man in charge of all the slaughter has been re-elected with a huge majority? Why were none of the opposition parties making it an issue?
They have killed another 11,000 animals.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Thursday 7 June
· 3,280,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,241,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (507,000 cattle, 2,608,000
sheep, 124,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 40,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
With all this going on, on top of the worst 6 years for farming since the 30's, some of you might be wondering why so many farmers are still farming. These photos show a little bit of why. And why we will fight against having our animals killed. And yes, this is a bull calf and it will be eaten one day, but not for another 30 months after it has enjoyed life, and no it won't have a long journey to the abbatoir or be terrified. And Hermia should live for at least 15 years.
Hermia calving. You can just see the calves feet. Her udder is bursting! Milk
is spurting out of her teats.
Calf just born. James is picking it up by its back legs.
Hermia is looking round to see where her calf is. James is holding it upside
down for any fluid to drain out.
First licks. The calf is already trying to raise its head.
Lots of licking.
Just standing. Hermia is a bit mucky as she was lying with her head in a cow pat.
First drink.
Here it is about 8 hours later. It's already going under the electric fence to hide in the long grass.
Today's NFU bulletin is depressing. We are in for a long haul: "Worst fears confirmed in Somerset: The Slaughter on Suspicion case reported yesterday at North Newton near Bridgwater in Somerset has been confirmed this afternoon. The disease was found in a Blonde D'Aquitaine suckler cow, which was sloughing its tongue and had lesions on its hooves. The 40 cattle and calves and 37 ewes and 18 lambs on the farm were slaughtered on Thursday evening and their carcases taken away for rendering this morning.
MAFF is in the process of identifying and contacting the contiguous farms, of which there are at least five. Sheep on these holdings will be slaughtered. Whether cattle on adjacent farms are slaughtered depends upon a veterinary judgement of whether they may have been exposed to the infection. There is a right of appeal.
The origin of the outbreak is a complete mystery, as there are no obvious links with any other outbreak and biosecurity precautions on the farm have been good. What the case demonstrates is that the virus is still out there, and could strike almost anywhere at almost any time. Farmers everywhere must, therefore, keep up their guard.
Bearing in mind what has happened in North Yorkshire, the Chief Veterinary Officer is understood to be very concerned and is considering introducing a complete ban on livestock movements throughout the county. We will know more on that tomorrow morning."
I got sent a depressing web site address today. It is written by a man who claims "I have never been found guilty of distorting the facts". When I first looked at it I thought it must be some sort of spoof. There is a page of sick jokes about farmers. They are the sort of jokes that he would be prosecuted for if he was making them about an ethnic minority, written with a shocking virulence and hatred. They made me feel physically attacked. He writes strongly against the slaughter, and I totally agree with him about the needless cruelty. But he also says "Animals are killed because farmers can't be bothered to nurse them when they're sick - anyway the government pays them for the dead animals. " When I have spent more than 3 months feeling besieged with my animal s, ready to defend them in any way I can, it is so disheartening to come across things like that.
Oh well. I'm off tomorrow. Our daughter is expecting a baby in October (our first grandchild) and I've been longing to spend some time with her. I'll be with her for the weekend and then to Sussex to see my mother whom I haven't seen since before Christmas. Then I've been invited to a FMD conderence in London on Wednesday and then I'm back here. In some ways I don't want to go. Until fairly recently there was the fact that MAFF only needed to give 4 hours notice of a cull and I daren't be too far away. It still doesn't feel too safe and James will be horribly busy without me. The outside world will seem very unreal.
9th June
I have really had enough of FMD,. I'm just about to leave the farm and it feels scary. I've been feeling very sad and stressed and the election results haven't helped. I don't know why I was hoping that a country that hasn't shown any interest up to now, should suddenly rise up and vote out Blair, Brown and Prescott. How could they anyway, when there wasn't one major party that was making FMD an election issue? Why weren't they? This is not over. We have relaxed our restrictions a bit, but that is more because we've had no choice except to move animals out to fields where they are more at risk. We can't get the casual help in that we normally rely on. Just going over the road (single track, quiet lane) to check on the cows 4 times a day (at least, if there are signs of calving it's more often) involves cleaning and disinfecting boots. That's just one example.
As farmers, we're feeling abandoned and forgotten. Life has been so restricted over the last 3 months and still is. And for many farmers it is much worse. At least we've had our form D lifted. (The MAFF vet has told us that that was a mistake and it shouldn't have happened). But we are still living under restrictions.
It was good to see this report on the BBC devon site this morning. The WI is a force to be reckoned with. Tony Blair discovered that last year.
"Meanwhile, the Women's Institute is calling for a thorough public inquiry into the causes and handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis. It was moved as an emergency resolution at the WI's national conference.
The conference, held in Cardiff , was addressed by Jill Cobley, a WI member from East Devon, who sits on the Government's foot-and-mouth task force. She said the Women's Institute should press for an agricultural policy which ensured a fair price to farmers for their produce. But the main thrust of her speech was that lessons MUST be learnt from the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
She moved a resolution calling for the Government to order a public inquiry and to take the necessary action to ensure a sustainable future for rural communities. It was backed by the delegates at the conference."
14th June
I got back in the early hours of this morning. The conference was very worthwhile, but my head is still buzzing with it. I'll report on it in a day or so. It was wonderful to be away in some ways, but felt really strange. I'm not going near any of the animals for a couple of days as there were farmers at the conderence from around the country. It was a fascinating conference. Too much to write about now. My head's not clear enough.
While I've been gone there have been more cases in North Devon. The consensus of the meeting was vaccinate. And vaccinate now. Jim Scudamore this morning was saying "vaccination has always been an option". What a lie!
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to be slaughtered is currently 8,178.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Wednesday 13 June
3,342,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,310,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (521,000 cattle, 2,662,000 sheep,
125,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
32,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Since I put the figures up on Friday evening there have been another 157 farms, with another 62,000 animals identified for slaughter, 69,000 killed. That's six days. 26 farms a day, 11,500 animals killed every day.
I'll catch up tomorrow. Part of today has been taken up with taking Megan to the vet. She's on heat, and James didn't realise that a bitch is on heat for 3 weeks. Patch's father has been round, and Megan ran off. Let's hope the injection of oestrogen does the trick!
15th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,178.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Thursday 14 June
· 3,354,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,323,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (524,000 cattle, 2,672,000
sheep, 125,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 31,000* animals awaiting slaughter. ·
*Animals awaiting slaughter pending appeal : England - 2570, Wales - 130
So no more farms but another 13,000 dead animals. Have you noticed that the animals "pending appeal" are still "awaiting slaughter"? The assumption is that the appeal will fail.
Big J had her calf whilst I was away. James cut 2 more fields of silage and got it baled and wrapped before the rain. It's been raining on and off all day. Jess disappeared whilst James was checking animals this morning. He found her late this afternoon right down near the river, watching the field of ewe hoggs, waiting for him to come back. We had been getting worried about her, as she's not a dog to run off.
I'm going to bed now. Mary and Richard and Richard's father are here. James's mother and aunt came to supper too. It's a weekend for family and getting jobs done. I'm waiting for someone else to write a report of the meeting that I can pinch!
A good article by Magnus Linklater in the Times. From Cumbria, in Rosie Radcliffe's diary, she writes about how I'm feeling. Do read it al. It's excellent. "After 100 days of this horrible disease I sent in a feature article covering our experience of these weeks to a national newspaper. Yesterday they let me know that they can't use it - not because it's not well written or anything, but basically it's "old news". They put it more tactfully than this, but it's still what they meant. Last night's 10 o'clock news on the TV didn't include any coverage of the outbreak - we've just vanished from the public eye. Tomorrow's election and the inevitable post-mortem of the result will ensure that we remain out of sight and out of mind. To say that I'm fed-up about this would be the understatement of the century. If this plague had taken place in the Home Counties heads would have rolled before now … and I bet we'd still be in the headlines".
There does not seem to be any news about the Devon cases in the National papers. Here is an account from the Western Morning News:
Life and death in the village of Clayhanger
The tiny village of Clayhanger has effectively been sealed off from the
outside world for fears of another Settle-style outbreak. MARK DANIEL speaks
to the people who are now losing their livelihoods to a foot and mouth
crisis that continues to spread
FARM agent Tom Griffith-Jones was arrested at Helewood Farm, Clayhanger,
as
he tried to lead a police officer to a telephone to talk to a solicitor in
a
bid to save six alpacas from culling.
"It was the most extraordinary scene," said retired naval officer
Roy
Benson, a lay reader at several village churches, who had already submitted
to the culling of his 21 cattle, nine Manx Loghtan sheep and the family's
five pet goats on Wednesday afternoon.
"Alpacas are not very susceptible to the disease and recover from it
readily, and anyhow, these animals had been isolated from the infected
stock. There were sound legal arguments for them to be monitored or spared.
"We, therefore, forbade admission to the officials insisting on slaughtering
them.
"A policeman came to the gate, and Tom suggested that he should come
into
the house to talk to our solicitor, who was on the telephone. The policeman
agreed.
"Tom led the way, the policeman followed, I was behind him and the
slaughtermen followed me."
Mr Benson said an incident then followed. "Next thing we knew, Tom was
being
led off in handcuffs and was locked up in the police cells. Later, the
Ministry agreed that there was a legal case for sparing the alpacas and that
it should be heard in court, but by then I felt so intimidated that I gave
in and the alpacas were slaughtered."
Tom Griffith-Jones's travails were also far from over. "I was locked
in the
cells and just left there," he said.
"In the end, however, they charged me with obstructing Ministry officials
and released me at 2.30 in the morning.
"I am mystified and outraged. All that I was trying to do was to ensure
fair
play."
Mr Griffith-Jones returned home to discover that his own suckler herd of
pedigree Angus and Devon cattle were also due to be culled.
A police spokesman confirmed that Mr Griffith-Jones had been charged with
obstructing officials under the Animal Health Act and would be tried at
Cullompton Magistrates' Court on June 22. He declined to comment on the
specific incident, but confirmed: "The police are not working on the
instructions of the Ministry.
"They are simply attempting, as ever, to ensure that the law is enforced
and
that there is no breach of the peace."
Elsewhere in the Clayhanger area yesterday the mood was sombre as the culls
were carried out.
The tiny village has effectively been sealed off from the outside world.
Visitors were few and ran the risk, if they did gain admission, of finding
their way out barred as a further cull took place in an adjacent farm.
"It could be worse," said Tony Rawle, "but I'm not exactly
sure how."
Tony and his wife Shirley farmed at Fleeds Farm, Clayhanger, until 1997,
when they retired and let the land.
Yesterday, trapped on every side by foot and mouth outbreaks, their tenants'
herds were being slaughtered.
"There'll be no compensation for the landlord, and you can't evict tenants
and friends for getting a disease," Tony said. "I'm 60 now. The
children are
grown up and gone. We thought we were secure. How do you restart at this
age?
"The cullings are all being done very quietly and efficiently and the
carcasses taken away within hours."
Percy Hill, whose son George lost 900 sheep and 75 cattle on his mixed
Crosses Farm, said: "The Ministry people on the ground were magnificently
supportive and efficient, but the mood is very nervous and depressed around
here.
"We've got one man working on the farm who will have slept there for
four
nights and will have to stay in a hotel for three more days before he can
return to his home near Tiverton.
"Obviously we are relatively lucky because ours is a mixed farm, though
we
have had to destroy our silage as well, but I feel for the animals-only
farms which are being devastated. I can only pray that this is the last of
the disease."
ENDS
16th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,203.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 19:00 Friday 15 June
· 3,365,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,331,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (525,000 cattle, 2,677,000
sheep, 127,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 34,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Everything I've just written has been swallowed by the computer, before I saved it. 24 more farms and 8,000 animals killed.
I'm wondering if this will end before all the animals are dead. Foot and mouth is over as far as the national media are concerned. Write letters or emails to the press to remind them that it is still a matter of some interest to some people.
I'm not going to try and rewrite what i wrote now. too late! I will check in tomorrow and catch up properly on Monday with some pictures. Good night1
17th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,234. Slaughter and disposal numbers at
19:00 Saturday 16 June
3,371,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,335,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (525,000 cattle, 2,681,000 sheep,
127,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
36,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
31 more farms, but only 4,000 more slaughtered. 7 more cases today, (up to 17.00 hours) in Cumbria, Devon, Somerset and Yorkshire. I haven't had the details, but apparently in Yorkshire the quad bikes were out again, taking pot shots at animals out in the fields.Please write to Margaret Becket and Tony Blair to object. I'll post the details when I have them.
An email from Cumbria. "I am an organic farmer in the north of Cumbria, we have lost our sheep and pigs but still have our cattle, thankfully. .......... I have heard of 4 cases which 10 weeks after they were slaughtered with suspect FMD, and the surrounding farms taken out on the 3km cull. They have just got their results back as negative. They were Russelgate - near Sleetbeck, Lordsgate - Nr Stapleton and Nicki's Hill near Walton and another one on the road to Longtown. It has taken 10 weeks to get their results back, many are well into the clean up. It must be soul destroying, now to realise it was for nothing. ............ if it is happening around here, and so many I guess there are a lot of other people in the same boat."
Margaret Becket, the new woman in charge (does she realise what a poisonned chalice TB has given her?) said on the 14th "The Government is extremely sensitive to the distress that this outbreak has already caused. It is clear, however, that there are no easy options, that incidence of the disease has been massively reduced by those steps already taken in the light of the expert advice received. We will continue to be guided by such advice." It does not sound as though she is planning a change in policy. the killing will go on.
As I said, yesterday. I'll put up more and more news and pictures of the farm tomorrow.
One interesting point made by Tom Lowther at the meeting. I think I've mentioned before about the way that Nick Brown's stopping of exports straight away meant that there were hundreds of thousands of sheep that were going to go abroad that now had to be dispersed around the countryside. The other point was that the supermarkets needed to have deliveries of animals at the abatttoirs up to the Friday night, to ensure their supply of meat on the shelves. After that it didn't matter as they could buy in from abroad. If movements in this country had been stopped at the same time as movements overseas the disease would have remained fairly localised.
18th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,254. Slaughter and disposal numbers at
17:00 Sunday 17 June
3,387,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,353,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (526,000 cattle, 2,696,000 sheep,
128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
34,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
another 20 farms.another 18,000 animals killed. Ben Gill on Friday (from
the WMN) ""We wish there were a simple policy that we could have
used but there isn't," he said."The reality is that, from all the
evidence we have collected, this disease
is brutal. There should be something better, but there isn't at this moment."
But despite the recent flare-up of foot and mouth disease around Clayhanger,
on the Somerset-Devon border, the slaughter policy was the best option
available to stamp out the disease, said Mr Gill. "I am sure that people
will have been critical of policy along the way, but at the end of the day
with foot and mouth, there is only one policy," he said. "If
there had been a better option three months ago then we would have used it."
It seems incredible that Ben Gill could still be saying there is no other option but this slaughter . The world must be watching us in amazed horror. Why are we not vaccinating?
Polly and her calf last week.
I know I said i'd write more today. The vet was here this morning. he had to check all our animals as we we have at last got our hoggs booked into the abattoir tomorrow. We can't have any for our own freezer or to sell direct (when we make about double). We have to have them there by 6.00 am. I've spent half the afternoon topping Higher Racks. The bottom part of the field is really bare because of all the rabbits. I have to be careful not to drive into some very large rabbit holes too.There are a lot of docks, the ewes had eaten the leaves, and left the stalks, so it's looking a lot better now. I enjoy toping. There are always buzzards hovering overhead (only 2 today), the views are lovely, and it's very satisfying seeing what a difference it makes. I'm feeling really tired and increasingly dispirited. We've heard that all the blood tests in our area have come back negative, but somehow that isn't making me feel any better. Perhaps it's reading things like this email.From the FWi forum page.
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, JCB's 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 close 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 people's 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 Newcastle's 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.
Northallerton, North Yorkshire
19th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,279.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Monday 18 June
· 3,396,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,372,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (529,000 cattle, 2,712,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 24,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Another 25 farms. Another 19,000 animals killed. Tony Blair's "home-straight?"?.When I first copied these figures down there were just 2 cases today. Now there are 6. How many farms does that mean?
An email from the States today: "It seems to me that if this (and I mean the whole thing including chasing animals around with shot guns, wiping out breeds, etc, etc) were happening in some third world country there'd be a ton of publicity and international relief efforts and the whole nine yards."
Another email from Penrith in Cumbria: "We are still battling on but horrified to see that it seems to be hotting up again in our area, coming back where it hasn't been for about four weeks which seems incredible! I gather from pretty reliable sources that the situation is pretty bad down Settle and Clitheroe way, much worse than the internet tells you ! I wish that they(the government) would admit defeat and just let us vaccinate (properly, countrywide and not just to delay slaughter) as it would seem they have done in Argentina. There was a letter about it in the Farmers' Weekly which stated that EU commisioners had visited Argentina and givn them the go ahead to export into the EU. So what is all the fuss about ?? Talk about adding insult to injury ! Once again I think all we can rely on is prayer because the Government certainly doesn't care two hoots about us ! God bless."
From Andrew up North (a dairy farmer): "The farmers have all been terribly British about it, don't make a fuss etc, if the govt. tried this in France they'd have had a barbecue with Tony Blair's head on the spit by now."
And from San Fransisco to Alan and Rosie "When I read Mrs Beckett's statement about how she'll "bear down", all hope for the new regime went out the window. I thought of our bombing of Cambodia, in the Vietnam war--In the face of defeat, try total, all out escalation. Moving up into more recent history, the phrase "ethnic cleansing" comes to mind, call it "biological ethnic cleansing," with all the evil it connotes. "
More about Anderson and King and their computer models. Alan and Rosie Beat have taken my information and looked up a lot more and put it all together so it all makes more sense and makes King and Anderson look a lot worse. The more I read about them the more I think that my first impression of Anderson was right. I wouldn't buy a second hand car off him. And it all fits in with the vets who say the contiguous cull is madness.
Looking over the hedge in Higher Racks, over the valley
It's been a lovely day. James's aunt is staying with his mother. I took her shopping yesterday and today to get my mother-in-law's birthday present. She'll be 90 tomorrow. I managed to combine yesterday's trip with a visit to Mole Valey Farmers to buy some sow and weaner nuts. This morning we were up at 5.00 to get our hoggs to Jasper's by 6.00. They went in a neighbour's truck. I've never seen it so clean. I don't know why they told us to be there by 6.00 as they didn't open till 6.30. A Spanish vet was meant to be checking the hoggs but he barely glanced at them (one of the extra expences that mean we get less for our stock). One of our other neighbours had a new bull delivered today. It came yesterday but had to be returned as it came with the wrong license. We should have our restrictions lifted soon. All the blood tests in our area have come back negative. We just hope that we get our sheep shorn before then as our shearer will need to change his license as it's just for an infected area.
We moved Daisy and Primrose and their calves to finish off Higher Racks, and then sat for five minutes on the slope of Tree Field. The different grasses blowing in the wind, with red clover and yellow vetch, with the trees below were so pretty. I forgot to take the camera though. There was a buzzard being dive-bombed by 2 crows, the buzzard mainly hovering and the crows darting and screaming.
A report in
East Lancashire Online : "......... piles of dead animals stood testimony
this week to the greatest tragedy ever to hit British farming.
"Everything that has come on or off our farm has been disinfected. We
couldn't have done anything more. I was almost paranoid about it. I have tried
my level best for 12 weeks - then it has got me. Some people have suggested
it is being spread by wildlife, but I can't help thinking it might be wildlife
on two legs. On Friday night I was milking my cows and they were all fit and
healthy. The next day they had foot and mouth. There was 80 years of sheep
breeding started by my great-grandfather gone in just 25 minutes. I have lost
my livelihood and so have six of my neighbours. We are all distraught. This
whole devastating thing is totally unnecessary and MAFF don't seem to be of
any help. We ask them what we do next and they can't tell us. They are
running round like headless chickens."
Coun. David Whipp, county councillor for Barnoldswick, the latest foot and
mouth "hot spot" called for vaccination to replace culling. Stating
that "this crazy culling" just is not working and labelling it "heartless
and inhumane", he is calling for newly-appointed farms minister Margaret
Beckett and Prime Minister Tony Blair to introduce an immediate vaccination
programme.
The Government and DEFRA - the new title for MAFF introduced this week - is
holding fast to its continued pursuit of slaughter as a cure for the disease.
Dr Stephen Hunter, DEFRA director of operations, Yorkshire, repeated that
the Government's operation is based on advice from its chief vet and chief
scientist, and EU policy.
He said: "We'll get over this outbreak."
Now reread the information on the government's chief scientist.
And I think I forgot to put a link to another of Libby Purves's excellent articles, on June 5th. She was hoping, as I was, that the voters would surprise T Blair. I still can't quite believe they didn't1
From Rosie Radcliffe again: "Monday 18th June If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. I have, although I foolishly thought that the worst pain of this outbreak was over. That was until I saw the lorries and the squad of men in white biohazard suits at another farm gate this morning. There is a new cluster of cases in a group of local villages, and our farmers are once again gripped by the fear that they will be next. .............. I've found an outlet for my feelings in writing a magazine article which deals with the way in which Cumbria has been forgotten about lately. The recent upsurge in cases does not seem to have been reported in the national press, and my overseas contacts genuinely thought it was all as good as over - until I told them different. It makes me feel like crying and banging my head on the wall. I may yet do both."
20th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,311.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Tuesday 19 June
· 3,405,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,379,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (530,000 cattle, 2,719,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 26,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
32 more farms. 7,000 more animals killed, 9,000 more "identified for slaughter". But only one more case.
I haven't been able to access freeserve tonight so I won't be able to put this up.
From Paul's diary: "Mr Blair ordering the continued slaughter of thousands of animals is no longer news. Perhaps he should be encouraged to take up the captive bolt pistol and kill just one animal himself. Now that would be a story." Foot-and-mouth has faded completely from the National papers. I suppose for it to be back in the news, the Press would have to ask themselves some awkward questions as to why they have not been more interested in it.
Long Grass and Wild Flowers.
It is my mother-in-law's 90th birthday today. Her sister took us and some friends out for a meal tonight. Earlier James and I were moving the ewe hoggs to East Ham. The grass is really far too long, so James had to strim around the edge before we put electric netting up. East Ham is only 2nd year conversion (we rent it), so we graze it a little and don't make hay. It was flooded completely in the Autumn, as it is down by the river. Lots of wild flowers, wild red clover, ragged robin, forget-me-nots, buttercups, dog-roses, elderflowers, foxgloves etc. Bees everywhere. Some deep blue butterflies flying past. When they settle their wings are a dusty blue and just thier bodies deep blue.
21st June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,334.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Wednesday 20 June
· 3,416,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,393,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (532,000 cattle, 2,731,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 23,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Another 23 farms, another 14,000 animals killed. I just can't believe that so many animals are being slaughtered. The figures don't seem real. I think I've said before that if we were culled they would count less than 200 of our animals. We are a farm of 120 acres, the average size for Cornwall. It's as if they killed 70 farms of our size today. 130 or so lambs, 6 calves and 17 piglets would not be counted as relevant.
More in the National papers today (see www.warmwell.com for links to stories). We've been cutting silage, in Denny Bole (lots of docks), the top of Barn park and the top of Tree Field. I love cutting grass. It's good to think ahead to the winter and feeding the cows then. Very satisfying. There are buzzards flying down looking for grubs, and lots of butterflies. In Tree Field the grass pollen was like smoke.
22nd June
We've had computer connection problems. Sorry this is late. I meant to write a lot more, but too tired.
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,339.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Thursday 21 June
· 3,416,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,398,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (534,000 cattle, 2,734,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 18,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
5 more farms. 5,000 animals killed. No more identified for slaughter, but 4 cases. Those 4 cases show more than 2,000 animals (figures on MAFF's web site), on the infected farms alone.
I've just been reading Margaret Becket's statement in the House yesterday. I am very very angry. "The total number of animals slaughtered............. is about 4.5 million so far - out of a total UK livestock population of around 55 million. And to put that figure in context, although by anyone's standards a massive number of animals have had to be slaughtered, it is of course substantially a smaller number than we slaughter for consumption in an average week (some half a million cattle, sheep and pigs, a week). " The stupid woman talks about putting it "in context". What possible context can that be? If we carry on killing at this rate there won't be any breeding stock to provide the beef that takes at least 3 years from conception (a bit less for the rubbish that the supermarkets sell, some only 2 years) As one email said ".....where is your arithmetic? the same number of animals are still being slaughtered for meat, ............there is a huge difference between killing a 4 day old lamb and its mother, burning on an open pyre, and sending a finished locally produced full weight lamb to a local slaughterhouse for distribution to the region from a well run community butchers shop". I realy do despair.
From Scotland on Sunday: "Well there we are, the biggest con in our history and they can now get on with killing the six million beasts they avoided killing before the election to convince you that foot and mouth was over. Teams of vets from all over the Commonwealth on stand-by, and who is going to pay for them? Not, I suspect, Brussels - culpable negligence is usually a defence to monetary claims so I expect it will be us."
Sheep before shearing.
We've been having our sheep shorn this afternoon. It's a relief to see them without their thick coats on. We've had one sheep with fly-strike (caught at the earliest stage). A tremendous row from the lambs when we put the ewes back, as they don't recognise their mothers without their coats on.
From the Yorkshire Post: "Further details were also revealed yesterday about a culling incident at Niffany Farm, Skipton, where two cows escaped from slaughtermen. It emerged that a slaughterman, a trained marksman, tried to kill the animals with a .22 rifle from a vehicle, with a vet present. A spokeswoman for DEFRA, formerly MAFF, said the rifle was "of an insufficient calibre to even penetrate the skull of the animals and so they were left grazing in the field overnight," adding that the .22 rounds "only just broke the skin". A marksman killed the animals the next day and, she said, DEFRA was satisfied the animals did not suffer. The company which carried out the Niffany Farm cull said the vet present permitted use of the .22 rifle. It asked not to be named for fear of attacks."
23rd June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,354.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Friday 22 June
· 3,420,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,406,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (535,000 cattle, 2,741,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 14,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
We've been rowing up the silage for baling. We were working in relays as my mother-in-law had some old friends visiting and I'd done a simple lunch and we took turns to stop.
24th June
The Farmers Guardian is running a telephone poll on whether there should
be a full independent public enquiry on FMD.
FOR YES PHONE 0901 031 2311 ~ FOR NO PHONE 0901031 2312 ... Each call
costs only 10p
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,364. Slaughter and disposal numbers at
17:00 Saturday 23 June
3,426,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,412,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (536,000 cattle, 2,746,000 sheep,
128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
14,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Of those animals slaughtered 10,000 remain to be disposed of.
*Animals awaiting slaughter pending appeal : England - 1579
I am having a bit of writer's block with this page. I've got behind hand and there is a lot to write, but with all the farm work there isn't time to write till late. I think my late nights are finaly catching up with me. Devon is quiet, but there is still killing in Yorkshire and Cumbria. A good article in the Sunday Independent, today, pointing out that at least 2 million more animals have been killed than was necessary.
There were gardens open in the village and a strawberry tea (an annual event). It was a lovely afternoon.
Two horrible things today. Blackie caught a gold finch. It was still alive but had an injured shoulder. We put it in a box and hoped it would recover but it died. then James went down to check the ewes and lambs in lower meadow (we'd moved them this morning) and found a buzzard tangled in the electric netting and dead. We've never had anything caught in the netting before.
Why is it that the young stock are always at the very top of the field when
I check them? There are lots of thistles up at the top of Upper Mill Field.
25th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,391.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Sunday 24 June
· 3,441,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,412,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (536,000 cattle, 2,755,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 20,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
There was an average of 3 cases a day last week, 16 farms a day, and just under 6,000 animals a day killed. But another 27 farms since yesterday.
From the NFU bulletin: "Test results give cause for hope in Stawley area: A week after tissue and blood samples were taken from three farms at Stawley and Bathealton before the livestock were slaughtered on suspicion, some of the test results have now come back - all negative so far. While it is still possible that the remaining tests may prove positive, this looks unlikely. In addition, blood samples taken from sheep slaughtered on a farm neighbouring the last of the Stawley cases have tested negative." But what hope for thre farms that have been "slaughtered on suspicion" or those that were contiguous and have had their animals killed?
and "Cornwall Infected Area: Despite optimism last week, there has been no change to the boundary of the Infected Area because results of further blood tests are awaited. We are applying pressure at an HQ level to find out the precise situation and hasten a solution. However, Form D notices have been lifted today from farms in the Treburley area." One consolation for not having our Infected Area lifted is that we don't need to worry about people walking the foot-path that runs through our farm.
from an email yesterday:" Just thought I'd tell you about my morning,
which will explain why I am
feeling so down. I made some notices asking tourists not to use the
footpaths that had stock in them even though the government had seen fit to
ignore farmers pleas, and reopen the paths. I placed both notices next the
official green notices on the gate at Craster where the footpath runs up to
Dunstanburgh Castle - right through a field of ewes and lambs belonging to
friends of mine. The notices that I printed are bright yellow and cannot be
missed.
The first couple to arrive did not even bother to read any of the notices
on
the gate, even the official one, however, I watched them dip their feet in
disinfectant and then walk over the disinfected mat, and off they went. The
next four that came posed by the gate to take photos of the gate and the
sheep in the field behind. Two of them then opened the wicket to walk
through without dipping their feet in the bucket. I asked them please to
dip their feet, and was told that they did not need to as they would walk
over the mat. I pointed out that dipping their feet was an extra measure of
biosecurity. Reluctantly they dipped their feet, and one woman said, "oh
I
do realise you have to be careful, I stayed at my mother's on the way to
Northumberland, she lives in Cumbria where they are surrounded by foot and
mouth". I said to her something to the effect "You mean to say you
have
come from an infected area and yet you are still going to walk through that
field of ewes and lambs" To that she replied "Oh no, I don't live
in an
infected area, my mother does, and I only stayed there a couple of days on
my way here". I shook my head and again said to her "But you have
come from
an infected area" but she said again, "No, my mother lives in an
infected
area". By then my whole body took a fit of the shakes and I could feel
a
lump in the back of my throat - I just stood and watched in dismay - by now
some twenty or so tourists were entering the footpath.
One man picked up his little dog and carried it over the disinfectant mat
and put it down at the other side and commenced walking along the footpath
amongst the sheep and lambs.
Some biosecurity.
Please, any suggestions, what more can I do?" There is more about foot-paths on the Warmwell site
26th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due to
be slaughtered is currently 8,403.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Monday 25 June
· 3,440,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,427,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (537,000 cattle, 2,759,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 13,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
I kept hearing on the news on Radio 4 yesterday that 4,000 animals were being killed in the Brecon area. I was wondering why they were suddenly considering it news when they've been killing a lot more than that every day. The figures for yesterday now show that 15,000 animals were killed yesterday. Why were only the animals in Brecon thought to be newsworthy? There were 1,000 animals fewer identified for slaughter, and 7,000 of those awaiting slaughter were killed. So where have the other 9,000 animals killed come from? Probably just carelessness in writing down the figures, but this inefficiency is inexcusable.
I was out at a meeting of our Farm Holiday group (www.cornish-farms.co.uk ) all afternoon. The NFU have been doing a survey of farms down here "On average, respondents estimated their farming incomes have fallen by a third, with farm tourism businesses suffering far more". Do have a holiday on a farm. (www.farm-holidays.co.uk ). The parents of a family that stayed here asked their children whether they would prefer to return to Disney land or come back to the farm "don't be silly! the farm of course."
We moved the young bullocks and heifers this morning. They have to cross
over the stream and come up through the woods.
An article from british dairying by Barry Wilson. Please excuse the typos!
Labour and the farmers
It seems extremely unlikely that the new labour govt will hold a public
enquiry into this year's foot and mouth disaster, if only because the govt,
as well as everyone else, comes out of it so badly.
It was of course the labour govt who, all too late, instigated the public
inquiry into theBSE disaster. It may be much longer before a new tory govt
can investigate this 'labour' disaster.
One of the main findings of the Philips inquiry was that public debate
during such crises was essential, that dissenting advice should be heard,
that there should be full and open discussion. The Philips report was
published less than five months before foot and mouth disease appeared. And
don't forget, with BSE we were genuinely dealing with the unknown. With FMD
we were dealing with, as far as pirbright were concerned anyway, with
something akin to a family friend.
But were lessons learnt? Was there free and open discussion? Can a leopard
change it's spots? There has been no free and open debate. The issue of the
vaccination option was tabboo. There was no public discussion, particularly
by maff. and the NFU, disasterously, did more than anyone to silence
discussions on vaccination, and deliberately to confuse the issue.
But heads will roll, and this is why the 'whispering campagn' has already
started. Senior maff officials have a pretty good ides that some of them
are for the high jump, anf they're getting their retaliation in first. They
are now blaming the govt.'s chief scientific adviser, prof david king, ans
central govt advisoe, prof roy anderson ( who left oxford uni less than a
year ago under a cloud of controversy) - neither of whom is an animal
disease specialist- for what maff insiders are now calling a "comletely
unjustified " increase in the contiguous slaughter and "slaughter
on
suspicion."
All the while, it seems the real experts, the chiefs at the pirbright lab-
one of the world's centers of excellence in the study of FMD- were
effectively sidelined early on in the crisis. We now have this on the
authority of the deputy head of pirbright, dr paul kitching, who has now
started to speak his mind, in view of the fact he has a new job in canada.
He said the epidemiolgical models coming out of anderson's imperial colege-
which conveiniently if a little blatantly forecast that the disease would
dissappear by election day- were essential y a load of nonsense as no one
had the data on which to base such predictions.
I myself spoke to dr kitching- who i have never met- in march to check a
story i had written about world wide use of vaccine control of FMD- and he
indicated quite clearly that the sensible way forward in the uk after just
tree weeks of the epidemic was limited (hopefully) vaccination.
Kitchen said publicly later that the low leval of infectivety in the 2001
uk
epidemic made the widespread slaughter "totalyy unjustified" prof
anderson
conceded later that they might have got it wrong with the contiguous and SOS
slaughter "but it wasn't us who proposed the 3k culling policy".
There is
much disagreement as to wher the 3k slaughter came from, but some are
pointing the finger at chief vet jim scudemore. There is a good deal of
finger pointing going on a the moment.
Just before easter, prof king- clearly supported by PM tony blair- said
limited vaccination said that limited vaccination of dairy cows was the
favoured option , and downing street put out the spin that vaccination would
start about april 20th. But NFU presidents Bem Gill and Jim Walker put a
spoke in that. They may have been misguided but they were only representing
a sectional interest, and maybe only a section of this interest. Blair was
head of the govt, his was a spineless dereliction of duty. Maybe at this
point blair and king decided to let the NFU and Maff have their way, they
would pay heavily later if anything went wrong. Everyone had an incentive
to
cook the figures.
The newly elected Blair govt, meanwhile, wil not forgive what they see as
ruthless selfishness of the NFU- nor the fact that the NFUs made the govt
look stupid and ineffectual, (one dwning street insider told me, "farmers
are the only group of professionals polled who overwhelmingly supported the
tories") Ben gill may have to pay heavily for his short term political
victory. His letter to the times just before the election he wrote;"For
any
future outbreak of fmd we must find alternatives to culling. We must examine
all posible control measures. Vaccination may well form a part of future
policy." Maybe to little too lte.
In the meantime, the past four months will not go down in the annals of
whitehall as a magnificent example of cohesive political and administrative
efficiency. It won't happen again, or will it ?
"The warp and weft of rural life has been well and truly broken this year. .............. It feels as if there's nothing to look forward to any more. ......... for this year at least, the impact on rural areas may be a slow death by a thousand small cuts. The impact of Foot and Mouth Disease is not so much like ripples spreading in the water, and more like waves crashing relentlessly on the shore. My heart goes out to the people of Yorkshire who now seem to be facing the agonies we've already experienced. But why weren't the lessons of what happened here put to good use to spare others the same pain? Perhaps the truth is that no-one ever believes it can happen to them … until it does. "
27th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,415. Slaughter and disposal numbers at
17:00 Tuesday 26 June
3,441,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,428,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (538,000 cattle, 2,760,000 sheep,
128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
13,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Another 12 farms. The 1,000 animals less that were identified for slaughter yesterday are now back, but with no more "identified". Only 1,000 killed.(Again the numbers don't add up as that is 1,000 cattle and 1,000 sheep).
Not much time tonight again. I've been out at a meeting this evening. I have all sorts of good intentions for tomorrow!
A National Foot and Mouth Group has started, trying to co-ordinate the many different groups. They are meeting on Sunday 1st July in the Midlands area if anyone reading this would be able to go. Here is the message from them:
"FMD Meeting - Sunday 1st July 2001
A meeting is being arranged in order that we may get together as many people
as possible who are involved, or want to become involved, in the national
campaign to stop the slaughter of healthy animals and bring the horrors of
Foot and mouth to an end.
We plan to hold this meeting on Sunday 1st July in the Midlands area so it
is centrally located and close to motorways. The meeting will start at 1.00
p.m. and we shall be posting details of the venue with full directions as
soon as possible but at the latest within the next 48 hours. We are giving
early notification of this meeting in order that you can mark your diaries
accordingly.
Who should attend? ...................... Well if you are reading this then
we hope YOU will be able to come!
It does not matter if you have no previous experience.................
whether you have one hour to spare a week or a hundred........... whether
you can help deliver help packs or are better at home on your
computer....................whether you have a car, a cycle or just two
feet.....................whether you can help by raising public awareness
or
whether you can help by raising funds..................whether you are an
'up front' individual or are better as a 'backroom
supporter'.............whether you are 18 or 80 ........ whether you live
in
a town or in the country ....................... whether you have animals
or
not ............. whether you can help by just occasionally answering a
phone or whether you would just like to use your eyes and ears to give us
information - PLEASE COME
There is only one requirement ........................ You care about
stopping this unnecessary slaughter of healthy animals.
If you intend to come then please let us know using either an e-mail
confirmation or one of the numbers below. If you cannot attend then PLEASE
let us know by telephone or e-mail if you can help in any way locally. Just
by knowing you are there and giving your support to those who are able to
be
more active means a great deal. Let us know you cannot come but that you are
supporting us for the greater the numbers we have nationally then the
greater our strength and power.
We appreciate that there may be a lot of people who cannot come because of
distance, other commitments or finance ....... but if you want to have an
input then please e-mail us accordingly.
We will let you know the venue, time and give you full directions as soon
as
possible together with an appropriate agenda ........ so please keep
watching .............please come and ...................please help us do
all we can to put an early end to this horror.
Tony York (Tony the Troubleshooter) Pig Paradise Farm
tonyyork@pigparadise.com
www.pigparadise.com 07967 581805
also Val Sinclair 01691 662388 or 07721416739
Julia Currie 01453 764376 or 07977215715
And an article in teh WMN today (for more stories fron the WMN go to the Heart of devon site)
Controversy rages over vaccination
Calls for strategy to cope with disease amid claims culling hasn’t worked
Rural Affairs Secretary Margaret Beckett yesterday played down suggestions that the Government was set to sanction the use of vaccination to combat foot and mouth disease.
Mrs Beckett said that vaccination had always remained under review, but that scientific evidence still suggested that it was not advisable.
But a leading representative of the organic farming industry insisted that the mass culling strategy had not worked and the time had come for vaccination to be used.
Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, told BBC Radio
4's Today programme: "There is a real possibility that the Government
will reconsider introducing vaccination.
"We have had 1,700 cases, lost three and a half million animals and thousands
more farms have been caught up in the contiguous cull, and it hasn't worked.
"If we were to deploy vaccination, we strongly believe that if we used it as a protective measure and to suppress the spread of the disease – both on a voluntary basis – this could help bring the disease under control."
But Mrs Beckett said: "It is a simple fact that there are problems with vaccination, that it is not an easy answer. There isn't any easy answer.
"Before, during and after the election, we have continued
to look at the issue of vaccination and if we feel the balance of argument
has shifted we will take that into account.
"The balance of the argument, I'm afraid, has not shifted."
Mrs Beckett acknowledged that many farmers were still suffering as the foot
and mouth epidemic tailed off.
"It is very sad that we continue to have the tail, but
the number of cases is dramatically down."
National Farmers' Union leader Ben Gill restated his members' long-standing
opposition to vaccination.
He told Today: "Unless there is new science that has developed in the last few days that I have not been made aware of, I would expect the Government would come to the same conclusion as they did before.
"I wish there were a solution as simplistic as some people
claim vaccination would be."
Mrs Beckett also came under fire in the House of Commons yesterday from shadow
agriculture minister Tim Yeo.
Addressing the Secretary of State, Mr Yeo said he had never known the farming
community so demoralised and called for a "full recovery plan" to
get it back on track.
Many rural businesses and farms needed cash help now and stressed
the need for additional compensation.
Calling for ministers to clarify their stance on vaccination to tackle foot
and mouth, he asked: "Why should this be reconsidered two months after
the Prime Minister said the country was on the ‘home straight'.
"What purpose would it now serve?" he said.
Mr Yeo also called for a full, independent inquiry into the foot and mouth
crisis.
"The damage to the livestock industry, to the countryside and the rural
economy clearly justifies a full, independent public inquiry," he said.
28th June
There have been 3 more cases today but there are no more figures put up since yesterday.
I've just had a long phone call from a local friend. They farm about 3 miles away. They had a horrible shock yesterday. I am writing this particularly for any farmers reading this. One of their bullocks was drooling and they checked it and there were blisters on its tongue. They looked just like the blisters that MAFF has on its FMD brochures. Their hearts sunk as they were sure it must be FMD. They were thinking of all their neighbours and all the farms in the area who were beginning to get back to normal. I can imagine how bad it felt. They called the MAFF vet who came out straight away. She took one look and they could tell by her face that it probably was as bad as they feared. She told them it did look like it, but she would check all their animals. It took 4 hours (it isn't a large farm fortunately) of careful examination of all tongues and feet. There was only the one bullock and it's tongue was blistered but also hard and swollen. The vet decided that it was "wooden tongue" (I haven't heard of it before). She said there were lesions that were at least 2 days old, and that if it had been FMD it would have spread to the other cattle. Our friends didn't sleep well last night, and were relieved to see in the morning that there were still no other cattle affected. But they were so thankful that the vet had been one who did not jump to conclusions (she is a farmer herself) and who had seen FMD and could tell it was not quite right. They were also thankful that they had seen no symptons a day or so earlier before the tongue became swollen and hard. It would then have looked more like the earliest signs of FMD. I wonder how many thousands of animals have died because they were examined by a vet who was going by MAFF's pictures? Where the vet is certain of clinical diagnosis blood tests are often not taken.
Daisy keeping an eye on calves playing with Megan.
From the warmwell site. I've just read this after writing the above. It makes me shiver. "June 28 Brecon : 5500 animals dead already and many more to follow. Abergavenny is full of Defra personnel and many lorries are outside Libanus. There has been a another "outbreak" with eleven farms affected. All this has been on the evidence of "clinical diagnosis" only. June 28 Mr Scudamore is on holiday "
And from warmwell again (the best site for information at the moment): "June 28 - received after last night's (Wednesday 27th June) public meeting in Skipton -.." a lot of angry and frustrated people. The 2 DEFRA officials unable to offer an adequate explanation for the contiguous cull. Most breathtaking, their claim that the huge number of negative blood tests on contiguously culled animals "shows we are ahead of the disease." So a measure of the success of the cull is how many of the dead animals were healthy, then?"
An interesting report in the Financial Times today: "A special committee set up by the French Senate called for a change in European legislation for livestock vaccines in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis that affected Britain and other countries in Europe.... The committee published on Tuesday a non-binding report refuting the arguments against vaccination...."If public authorities forbid vaccines, they will have to bear the consequences of this," Mr Arnaud said."
I've spent all day having a major clear out of our old dairy which we use as a larder. Boring but neccessary. James has spent most of the day moving our baled silage. Still a lot more to move. A good weekend coming up. Mary and Richard, Tom and Abi will be here. Tom hasn't been here since Christmas. He finished his finals (Geology at Oxford Brooks) today so I am sure he is having a good evening. We will celebrate my mother-in-law's 90th birthday a bit late but together (except for Will who is still in Hong Kong).
29th June
From Tony York to all who have read about the Foot
and Mouth Meeting and hope to come.
The National Foot and Mouth meeting on
THIS SUNDAY ~ JULY 1st
is being held at :
The Britannia Hotel ..... Wolverhampton .... start 2.30 p.m
We've got the children at home so I won't write much now. There is nothing on the MAFF / DEFRA site except in the breakdown by county where you can work out there were 6 cases today. No details of slaughter since Tuesday's figures. No answer to my email to them of course.
A letter came in the post today from the county counsel. I have since had a long talk with someone on the council. All footpaths in Cornwall will be open from next weekend./ TB has stated in parliament that further outbreaks are because of famers' lack of keeping to bio-security. MB has stated that walkers and ramblers cannnot spread FMD. The council has been told that central Government (ie. TB & MB ) will override them if they attempt to keep footpaths closed. So as from next weekend we can forget about washing boots carefully as anyone walking on the footpath that runs through our land can do so even if they have been walking in Settle or Penrith. It doesn't fit in with the message in the NFU bulletin tonight "We urge members to keep up their guard, maintaining clean vehicles, avoiding contact with other people's stock and minimising movements of their own animals."
Of course, the statements about opening footpaths leave the Government wide open to huge compensation claims from anyone whose business has been badly affected buy footpath closures.
Also in the Bulletin "Legal evidence clarifies risks of infection : Expert evidence given in recent court cases, where DEFRA has sought an injunction to allow them to slaughter "at risk" stock, has clarified the circumstances when livestock are most at risk of picking up infection. Aerial spread of the virus is now thought to be very rare, except where a large group of pigs are the source. In addition, the period of time when animals shed virus after infection, as well as the incubation period between infection and the onset of clinical symptoms, is much shorter than the 21 days often used my DEFRA vets.
In the most recent case, last week, the judge rejected DEFRAs application for an injunction to slaughter at risk stock, but made it clear his decision should not set a precedent. However, we believe that the case makes it clear that DEFRA vets must be much more specific, and more transparent, about the grounds on which they wish to slaughter contiguous premises or dangerous contacts in future. What is needed in these circumstances is a concise but scientifically rigorous statement of the risks from the vets that will relieve farmers of the agonising decision of whether to oppose DEFRA over the slaughter of apparently healthy animals."
The subsidy on sheep is down to £8 a ewe, mainly because our inability to export to the continent has meant raised prices there. If our subsidy were to reflect what sheep producers on the continent were getting it would be more than double.
James giving the dogs a ride after taking the rubbish up to the road.
I've just tried to access the MAFF/ DEFRA site again. There are now no details
at all of numbers slaughtered or farms affected. On Monday I will try and
get hold of my MP if the numbers haven't reappeared. The advice to farmers
on how to avoid infection remain the same. Again, the advice does not fit
in with open footpaths across farmland. "Movement controls mean that
stock are still at outlying locations away from the main farm. Every time
you visit such stock there is a real risk you may spread disease on yourself,
your clothing, footwear, vehicles and equipment or other animals such as sheep
dogs.
Keep the number of these visits to an absolute minimum and wherever possible
try to make alternative plans for specific people, who do not have contact
with other livestock, to care for your animals.
If you have to travel between sites treat each as a separate, secure unit
and insist on everyone following strict rules on cleaning and disinfection
of vehicles, clothing and equipment on leaving and arrival.
Wherever possible only use equipment, boots and protective clothing that remains
at each site."
Found the new figures on the new site at last.
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,450.
Slaughter and disposal numbers at 17:00 Thursday 28 June
· 3,447,000 animals identified for slaughter.
· 3,437,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (540,000 cattle, 2,766,000
sheep, 128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
· 11,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
So since the figures were last published (2 days ago), there have been another 35 farms, another 9,000 animals killed. They must have been small farms. Does anyone reading this have any confidence in MAFF/ DEFRA's figures?
Anger grows at Slaughter Policy Craven Herald 12 separate deeply concerned letters to the editor on the subject of FMD policy ..." passed a sign on the A59 asking people to stay on the main roads, due to being in a foot and mouth restricted area, and find that the "Mafia" - far more fitting for them than MAFF - had been sending the slaughtered animals out through the village, past clean farms with healthy animals, instead of the other way out which leads on to the A59. Would someone give the reason for this decision?" See the 12 relevant letters - which perhaps deserve a wider audience
30th June
The number of premises recorded on which animals have been or are due
to be slaughtered is currently 8,463. Slaughter and disposal numbers at
17:00 Friday 29 June
3,462,000 animals identified for slaughter.
3,450,000 animals recorded as slaughtered (544,000 cattle, 2,766,000 sheep,
128,000 pigs, 2,000 goats) and
12,000* animals awaiting slaughter.
Another 13 farms. 13,000 animals killed but that 13,000 is made up of 4,000 cattle, no sheep, no pigs and no goats. Is someone on the MAFF/ DEFRA site making deliberate mistakes, or is it just that they have such contempt for the general public that they can't be bothered to even try to make their figures make sense?
About the meeting tomorrow: "Everything is dropping into place............NOW WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE TO COME AS POSSIBLE. Carlton/Midlands TV are covering the event as are BBC and we are also working on Channel 4. I have just finished a radio interview on BBC West Midlands and hope to have the press coverage their tomorrow as well. This is a great chance to make an impact and get the vaccination issue into the public domain again whilst also bring the horror of the current siruation to everyones attention. PLEASE let everyone know how important it is to attend if it is humanly possible. Tell every farmer, smallholder, active supporter and friend you know to make that extra effort and join us in Wolverhampton at 2.30 p.m."
We've been celebrating my mother-in-law's 90th birthday. It was good to have our children here (minus Will, who was missed!). Everyone helped with the cooking. Meals that are joint efforts always taste so good -- quite apart from the fun of working together.
Megan feeling left out at the kitchen door. The bright red and yellow on the table are super-soaker water pistols which are very effective in keeping the cockerels off the cats'food.
We have more visitors in the Barn. There's no-one next week and then we're booked up through the summer. We've just had our visitors for the last week in August cancel as they come from Clitheroe, near infected farms. I feel bad for them. And always so angry that we're not allowed to vaccinate our animals. If you get a chance to go to the meeting in Wolverhampton, Ruth Watkins will be speaking. She is a virologist and very level-headed and informed. Worth going just to hear her.
Must go to bed now. Look at the Warmwell site for links to stories in the press. I'm too tired to write more now.