March 2001

The black clouds of smoke spiralling into the sky over large tracts of the United Kingdom are a stark reminder that the funeral pyre of British livestock farming has been lit. Foot-and-mouth disease, the most dreaded viral infection in modern farming, has spread like wildfire. 220 farms have been infected so far, with the outbreak starting in a pig farm in Northumbria and in a mere two weeks, spreading to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and across the channel to France. The disease, which affects pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, wild deer and even hedgehogs, is now running amok. The Whitehall Agriculture Minister - Nick Brown - proclaimed at the weekend that "Everything is under control." In the eyes of most farmers, this is very far from the truth. When Tony Blair admits that he has given permission for military snipers and marksmen to be deployed to shoot animals on open land and for army personnel to help with the construction of massive funeral pyres, the extent of the plague becomes apparent.

Already over 200,000 animals in the UK have been shot and burned to try and prevent the disease from spreading. The French government ordered the destruction and incineration of tens of thousands of sheep and cattle imported from Britain in a vain attempt to stop the disease from reaching continental Europe. Now with several confirmed outbreaks in North-West France and even some suspect cases under investigation in Italy, fear and panic is beginning to take a hold. A total ban on all livestock movements has been introduced and even Britain, despite rapidly emptying supermarket shelves, has called for French meat imports to cease.

The extent of the catastrophe facing European agriculture is frightening. In Britain, the foot-and-mouth outbreak has come in the wake of four years of recession in the agricultural economy. Farm incomes have plunged by 80% since New Labour came to power. Recently published government figures indicated that average farm earnings were a shocking £3800 for the whole year, with hill farmers earning even less. Seventy-seven farmers committed suicide during the past 12 months. Already one Devon farmer who has seen his entire herd slaughtered because of foot-and-mouth has hanged himself. Police in parts of England are confiscating shotguns and rifles from farmers with infected livestock as a precaution against further suicides. And yet the Minister of Agriculture claims that "everything is under control."

Now there is outrage over the handling of infected farms. When farmers first report their suspicions that they may have an animal showing signs of the virus, it can take up to 9 days for a Government vet to arrive at their farm to conduct tests. It can then take another 4 or 5 days before all of the animals are slaughtered. But, as one weeping farmer indicated in a distraught telephone call, the dead animals are then left lying around for up to 7 days while arrangements are made for their incineration or burial. To witness the slaughter of your life's work and then have to live with the rotting carcasses for up to a week is beyond the endurance of many farmers.

In an attempt to short circuit this process, the UK government has approved the removal of animals which have been slaughtered because of foot-and-mouth, to a designated rendering plant in Cheshire. Despite assurances that trucks used for this purpose are sealed and thoroughly disinfected, there is deep unease that loads of infected carcasses are traversing Britain. Now some farmers and politicians are getting angry. Questions are being asked. Where did the disease come from? How did it manage to spread so quickly? Why, when Ireland has banned all livestock movement, rugby matches, major sports fixtures, horse racing and even asked people not to travel to Church on Sundays, is Britain still allowing many of these events to take place?

With vast tracts of the countryside cordoned off by police because of foot-and-mouth, it seems ludicrous that for the rest of Britain it is business as usual. Tony Blair is even contemplating calling a General Election on 3rd. May, despite the fact that much of rural Britain is in strict quarantine. With most farmers blaming New Labour for everything that has gone wrong, it is hardly surprising that the Prime Minister favours an early election, when electioneering and even travelling to polling stations to cast a vote will become an impossibility for tens of thousands of potentially hostile country dwellers.

It now seems apparent that the foot-and-mouth virus entered the UK in an infected piece of meat, probably imported from South Africa. Scientists have identified the virus as one which is common in Botswana and other parts of the African continent where the disease is endemic. There is growing dismay at the realisation that rigorous food safety controls applied to all meat products within the EU are not similarly applied to imports from outside.

Back in 1967, when Britain suffered its last major outbreak of foot-and-mouth, more than 2300 farms were infected and over 420,000 animals were slaughtered. The outbreak took six months to bring under control. With more than 200,000 animals killed in just over two weeks, farmers are bracing themselves for an even worse outbreak this time with devastating impacts not only on farming, but also on all kinds of associated industries. Livestock hauliers, abattoirs, auction marts and farmers' markets have all been closed down. Rural tourism is losing an estimated £100 million a week with cancelled hotel and country cottage bookings. Even a brewery in Devon has claimed major losses because large parts of the county have been placed under strict quarantine and people cannot travel to the pub to buy their beer. Demands for government compensation are growing.

Right now, only farmers directly affected with the disease and forced to slaughter their livestock receive compensation. But there is a growing bandwagon crying out for financial aid in all affected sectors. People facing ruin by default are pointing out that the rapid spread of the disease across the UK is partly due to rigorous government compliance with tough EU measures on food safety and animal welfare. European Commission directives requiring qualified vets in every slaughterhouse led to the closure of more than 2000 provincial abattoirs, unable to bear the costs. Now animals have to travel hundreds of miles to be slaughtered, causing the rapid spread of the foot-and-mouth virus.

Outbreaks of the disease in France and now Italy have given a new and sinister dimension to the farm plague. There is a need for centralised control and co-ordination. The European Commission must take charge. If eradication of foot-and-mouth is to be successful then co-ordinated quarantine restrictions must be introduced across the EU together with the control of large movements of population to sporting fixtures and other public events. There should be disinfectant footbaths at all ports of entry and exit and at most major railway stations. And for the future, there should be a strenuous effort by the EU to ensure that we apply the same rigorous standards to meat imported from outside Europe, as to meat produced by our own farmers within the EU. Clear traceability and labelling will enable the public to judge whether imported food products are from countries applying similar standards for animal welfare and food safety.

There is little doubt that the spreading plague of foot-and-mouth will force a re-think of the entire Common Agricultural Policy which dictates the way Europe runs its farms. The funeral pyres burning brightly across the European countryside have started the debate already.

Struan Stevenson MEP Struan Stevenson is a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland and is Conservative Front Bench Spokesman on Scottish Agriculture & Rural Development and Deputy UK Spokesman on Agriculture.