Foot and mouth shock (From Gazette & Herald)

Foot and mouth shock

FARMERS are reeling from the latest shock to hit their industry, as a devastating livestock disease made its first appearance in Britain for 20 years.

And a leading pig industry figure revealed one of the animals involved in the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Essex had come from Yorkshire.

An 8km movement restriction area was placed around an abattoir just south of Brentwood following reports of vesicules on 27 pigs. These movement restrictions apply to all farmed livestock within that area.

The infected pigs had arrived at the abattoir on February 16 from two farms; one at Great Horwood in Buckinghamshire and one at Freshwater Bay in the Isle of Wight. 8km movement restriction areas have been placed around these premises.

Following confirmation of the disease, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was urging farmers to check their stock for the highly infectious disease.

Stuart Houston from Ripon, chairman of the producers group of the National Pig Association, said: "A boar which was found to have the disease at one of these farms down south did come from a supplier in Yorkshire.

"However, this does not necessarily mean the disease came from Yorkshire - this pig could have caught it afterwards. The disease literally could have come from anywhere in the country and MAFF inspectors are currently involved in trying to trace the disease," he added.

"It seems restricted to pigs at the moment but can spread quickly between species. I would like to make it clear that this is a disease which affects animals - there is no danger of humans being infected or harmed in any way."

A MAFF spokesman in London said: "There has been no outbreak in Yorkshire. We are going to be tracing the animals through the chain as to where they came from. That will be a very important element in this investigation."

Ryedale pig and beef farmer Derek Watson, who is county chairman of the Yorkshire National Farmers' Union (NFU), said: "How much more can the farming industry take?"

"As far as the pig industry is concerned it has just recovered from the swine fever outbreak, and now this."

British Pig Industry Support Group chairman John Rowbottom, from Melbourne, said he had every confidence in the Ministry of Agriculture's ability to contain the outbreak.

But he was "deeply suspicious" about foot-and-mouth reappearing after 20 years, adding: "Whatever the cause, this is the last thing the industry needs."

Fred Henley, who farms near Pocklington, said: "The last time there was a really big outbreak, the whole of rural life ground to a halt and the same may have to be seen again."

Updated: 10:27 Thursday, February 22, 2001