Foot and Mouth

I hope to anyone who's up there...not being religious so cant ask for anyone specific, that this has been contained.

please, please , please...not a repeat of 2001.......
 
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I hope they are a lot more strict- Patches- last time we were advised by defra to hack around our own land and not to go far, our hunt called hounds early and the horses at ours were turned to grass as it was just easier. Hopefully this time the government should say NO hacking about bridleways etc, no shows, equine events, and it is crap for us all but the chaos that rose last time should be a lesson to the govmt.

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Are you saying you wouldn't hack around you land this time?

We ended up keeping our cows in last time as the M6 runs through our farm and alot of the movements of carcasses for rendering came past us. We were advised to house them. Some poor farmers haven't even managed to get a first cut of silage in so they'll not be able to winter ration their stock.

It's so crap. We've played everything by the record and we were told it was very unlikely to happen again. FMD is still such a recent event, people still refer to it regularly. It seems to cruel to think we're all slung back into it again.

I remember watching the news feverishly, tracking all the most recent cases. I remember the panic when the first case was reported in our county after about six weeks and then I remember driving home one night and seeing a pyre at a local pedigree Jersey Farm. I was heartbroken. So scared.

We were just outside of the exclusion zones last time but the stress of worrying about it day to day was so draining. We almost envied those who's stock succumbed. At least their agony of watching and waiting was over.

We later kicked ourselves for not selling when the restrictions were lifted and people were desperate to re-stock. Cows were fetching ridiculous prices then. Those of us who carried on were suckers.....left footing the bill, financially and politically of the FMD. Farming has remained desperately harsh ever since.
 
Whilst I dont want to be rude to anyone, I am rather surprised by some of the replies here.
A farmer has just had his herd culled and his livelihood possibly ruined. Other farmers are worried they are going to suffer the same fate and may not be able to make enough money to feed their families etc.
All some people seem to be worried about is if they can go for a hack or a show.
perhaps I have read it all wrong but blimey people !!!!!!
I dont know many people with cattle etc but please spare a thought for them.............your horse will survive not going for a jaunt in the woods for a while.............the poor cows etc may not see tomorrow nor farmers make a living
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I really do hope there is no repeat of last time, I don't think the outcome will be as kind to the survivors as it was the last epi if it escalates.
No- I wouldn't hack, we just thought for what it was worth last time, chuck their rugs on and chuck them out- nothing to keep fit for, nothing for them to do, no point, the mood around the farm was rock bottom, it was throughout,gradually it faded off the front pages, off of the news, but it was still there, every farmer in the country knew it, it was another attempt for the gv to bury its head.
And yes if we had of cut our losses and run we would be laughing now, the farm would have been deversifed- we would have sold over 700acres, all the stock- hell it makes us look so stupid, ad here we are, not a decade on, and it threatens to come round and slap us in the face again.
 
Yup I agree.

Whilst not hacking about or going to shows is a pain, the financial implications to all of those involved with country trade is going to be vast.

Remember, it's not just us farmers who's livelihoods are at stake. The country pubs and hotels, transportation businesses and the like are all going to suffer the knock on effects.
 
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I didn't have horses in 2001. Did you hack around your own land during the last outbreak?

I can't believe this is happening again. I really can't. Milk prices had just gone up too. No doubt they'll crash again now. How can we sustain our industry when there's little faith left in farming, even before this.

I could cry.

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Patches, I only hacked around our land last time, I didn't hack on the roads for alooooong time.....too scared. Especially as I was a lot younger and had pet lambs at the time. I remember crying at night with worrying about them coming and culling my lambs
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I feel the same way as you, completely devastated. I'm just praying they've caught it in time.
 
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And yes if we had of cut our losses and run we would be laughing now, the farm would have been deversifed- we would have sold over 700acres, all the stock- hell it makes us look so stupid, ad here we are, not a decade on, and it threatens to come round and slap us in the face again.

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That's exactly how I feel tonight too. We've followed all the new rules and regulations to the letter that have been strangling Britain's farmers since the last outbreak. It's almost crippled the industry. We were promised the new rules, whilst very restricting and time consuming, would safeguard a future outbreak.

That promise hasn't even faded from our minds before it's been broken. I'm so cross and scared already. Farmers were treated like social lepers last time. Schools wouldn't have farmer's children in them as they were convinced they'd catch it somehow.

Oh hell, Rosie. I want to curl up in a ball and sleep until it's over!
 
last time there was no NH racing/point to points/eventing/no cattle sale/sheep sales/pig sales/horse sales...in fact NOTHING...exept day after ay of death and incineration........................
 
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I'm so cross and scared already. Farmers were treated like social lepers last time. Schools wouldn't have farmer's children in them as they were convinced they'd catch it somehow.

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Please tell me that didn't actually happen?!! That is awful
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That makes me so angry, how narrow minded! I can't imagine what it would have been like for a parent trying to explain that to their children!
 
I felt so gutted when I heard it on the news tonight- I work in a pub and it silenced their crowd, we have to remember that it is a epi that will affect a hell of a lot more than just us- but we are right in the middle- and to the public we are the ones that have made this hideous being, this disease that no one can see and going from the last count- no one can halt. Its chilling to think we are here all over again, and if we survive this what? The noose tightens, and every farmer's neck left in it so be it, or so that seems to be the attitude, and then what? A few more give up, a few more get out and run, and then it happens again, and there goes farming, drowned in a disease from where? The Uk and its tighter-than-tight movement regs? No, this isnt a hell of British making.
 
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I'm so cross and scared already. Farmers were treated like social lepers last time. Schools wouldn't have farmer's children in them as they were convinced they'd catch it somehow.


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Please tell me that didn't actually happen?!! That is awful

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Yep that happened, some kept away from me for a few weeks like I had the plague. Funny, but actually not
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I didn't go to school for a week in the end.
 
I didnt go to school when it happened- the headmaster was illeducated obviously in that area- us from rural backgrounds were "homeschooled" as precaution. I spent my days wallowing about in cow shite and driving the quad, they were not fun times.
 
Rosiie, I'dve given anything to have been wallowing about in cow shite back then - anything would have been an improvement on being stuck away from the farm feeling useless and not being able to do anything useful
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To everyone who farms on here my heart goes out to you, the waiting, the rumours and not knowing - the animals are your livleyhood but they are also a way of life. For the rest of us yes it is a pain, no shows, no hacking but it is nothing in comparison to watching everything you have worked for literally go up in smoke.

Now a question if animals with F&M can recover why do we slaughter, is it like strangles that they become so sick it is not financially viable to nurse them through? I also know humans can catch it, but is it so bad for us?
 
QR -

I am deeply saddened to read this report.
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Last time around there were no restrictions on horse movement I believe, however EVERY single horse owner I knew did not take their horse out, as a mark of respect and as a precaution against becoming a carrier. I cannot imagine anyone taking their horse out and about during a crises like this - and if they do/did then shame on them!

I owned my livery stables in England at the time of the previous F&M outbreak and advised all of my customers to hack within our property - they did happily and without any bribery as they were responsible country folks.

I am sorry to all farmers in England right now and I do hope that you will all adhere to ThomasTanks words - please don't go out and about; spare a thought for other rural inhabitants.
 
OMG!
Tell me something, do I remember rightly that hot weather helps to kill it off?
The last time it started in Febuary, and i remember it being publicised that as soon as the warm weather came, it would start to fizzle out.
If so, lets hope the sun comes out.
 
God I'm sitting here with tears coming down - I hope its not a repeat of last time. The farm next to where I kept my horses had its entire dairy herd and sheep flock destroyed and burned which was only too visible from the yard. Their second farm that was miles from the area also had everything culled and one of the old chaps from in the village that had a few pedigree pet sheep had to have them dispatched too. It was an absolute nightmare and ages before they were allowed to restock the farm.
As a vet, but working in a small animal practice in 2001, I felt utterly useless that I couldn't help the crisis in some way but also a little relieved that I didn't have to watch the mass slaughter and peoples livelihoods literally go up in smoke. Terrible times.
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Whilst I dont want to be rude to anyone, I am rather surprised by some of the replies here.
A farmer has just had his herd culled and his livelihood possibly ruined. Other farmers are worried they are going to suffer the same fate and may not be able to make enough money to feed their families etc.
All some people seem to be worried about is if they can go for a hack or a show.
perhaps I have read it all wrong but blimey people !!!!!!
I dont know many people with cattle etc but please spare a thought for them.............your horse will survive not going for a jaunt in the woods for a while.............the poor cows etc may not see tomorrow nor farmers make a living
mad.gif


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TT

I was sking about hacking because I care about the farmers and their cows. I Don't want to do ANYTHING that could put any of them at risk. If I can't hack out then so be it. Not sure if my post was one of the ones you are talking about, if so, you took mine the wrong way/I didn't getmy concerns across properly
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im shocked, i cant belive this is happening again
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my heart goes out to everyone with livestock
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just a quick question tho, my horse is turned out with sheep, would it be best to separate them?
 
Last time my daughter didn't hack out because it would have meant passing fields of cattle. She really did it as a sign of respect to farmers. One local farm had a suspected case and the children didn't come to the school. Once they were given the all clear they came back to school. In the 60s my pony was grazed on a dairy farm, in with the cattle. We weren't allowed near him for weeks. It was a horrible time. I'm about to go to work in a shop where our customers are predominantly farmers. Think we will be quiet today,poor farmers have had so much to cope with recently.
 
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last time there was no NH racing/point to points/eventing/no cattle sale/sheep sales/pig sales/horse sales...in fact NOTHING...exept day after ay of death and incineration........................

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That's the one thing that sticks in my mind from last time, and I really hope that there is no repeat of those godawful scenes.
 
To my knowledge, we didn't have an outbreak in Sussex last time, but our councils still closed ALL footpaths and bridleways - I support this 100%. Maybe if we all took responsible and thoughtful action NOW, it will be less likely to spread. We didn't hack out for nearly a year and then only down the town and beach (were lucky at the time to be on a yard that was on the border of town and countryside, so we didn't hack out the countryside way at all for a year.

Come on guys, most of us do this for our pleasure, yes its inconvenient and frustrating to curb our activities, but spare a thought to all those farmers who lost so much in the last outbreak and are just recovering.
 
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To my knowledge, we didn't have an outbreak in Sussex last time, but our councils still closed ALL footpaths and bridleways - I support this 100%. Maybe if we all took responsible and thoughtful action NOW, it will be less likely to spread. We didn't hack out for nearly a year and then only down the town and beach (were lucky at the time to be on a yard that was on the border of town and countryside, so we didn't hack out the countryside way at all for a year.

Come on guys, most of us do this for our pleasure, yes its inconvenient and frustrating to curb our activities, but spare a thought to all those farmers who lost so much in the last outbreak and are just recovering.

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Agree wholeheartedly with you there. Would be utterly devastating for the farmers if the F&M became as widespread as last time. This needs to be stamped out now.
 
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