Aug 08 2007
Making Sense of Foot and Mouth
The re-emergence of foot and mouth disease in the UK last Friday is a tragedy, most of all for the blameless farmers who have seen their livestock struck down, but also for livestock farmers across the country; the meat trade, from hauliers and abattoirs to butchers and pie-makers; rural tourism businesses; and everyone who enjoys good British meat (eg Superfood) or simply cares about the farmed landscape. Much of our most cherished countryside, from heaths and moorland to valley pasture and ancient grassland, has been shaped by livestock and depends on regular grazing.
Just 5 days in from the first outbreak, it’s far too early to guess how the epidemic (it’s officially an epidemic once there’s more than one outbreak) will unfold this time, but there is at least cause for hope: DEFRA appears to be handling the situation far better than MAFF managed in 2001; a likely source of infection has been identified; and there have only been 2 localised outbreaks - 6 had been identified at the same stage in 2001, with suspected cases reported from Devon to Northumberland.
The mainstream media are following developments closely, but there’s no better source of comprehensive information and informed comment on FMD than Warmwell.com, an independent website established by Mary Critchley early in the 2001 epidemic. The variety of information collated by Warmwell ranges from scientific reports to personal accounts of what’s really happening on farms. The site has been updated, apparently daily, since 2001 and has extended its interests to cover a wide range of farming and animal health issues.
For a grisly reminder of the last epidemic, Warmwell has an archived transcript of Muckspreader’s Not the Foot and Mouth Report for Private Eye, still the best accessible account of the events and mistakes of 2001.
Nick
Thank you for drawing attention to warmwell.com It does make the hours (and hours) spent seem worthwhile when I read such kind descriptions as yours. The internet really is proving its worth this time around. In 2001 we were only beginning to be able to provide an alternative voice to the official one (which, alas, was often spouting nonsense) This year, the network of ordinary people who found themselves drawn together like mercury then have very quickly found each other again. If warmwell is a good source, it is because so many good people are contributing to it.
Mary CRITCHLEY
(sorry to draw attention to the spelling of my name. Everyone misspells it - and ‘warmwell’ too very often!)
Warmwell.com is indeed a good source - thanks for the tip. I’ve updated my post to mention the site as well.