Just when it all seemed to be mercifully over, foot and mouth disease has returned in the UK.
The government had declared August’s outbreak over, the restrictions on livestock movements were lifted, farming and the meat industry were getting back to normal business at a busy time of year, the reports on August’s outbreak had been even published. Now all the fear and uncertainty is back.
Debate about whether it’s time to vaccinate is intensifying. Many consider vaccination long overdue and point to the new outbreak as tragic evidence. The case is presented convincingly at Warmwell, where it’s also reported that the government is considering vaccination.
Defra, for the time being at least, remains opposed to vaccination on the grounds of the risk of spread of the disease and the impact on trade in meat, though they have ordered 300,000 doses.
Keeping up with foot and mouth developments
Warmwell remains the best source of in-depth discussion and examination of foot and mouth disease, the arguments for vaccination, the impact on farmers and more.
Defra has a page on the latest situation, with links to detailed pages on the restrictions etc.
The Guardian’s Newsblog has regularly updated postings of events as they happen(ed) and views as they’re aired on the 13th September, 12th September. Matthew Weaver combines concise reporting of the facts as they emerge with discussion of postings on blogs and even FaceBook groups.
Finally, I’ve posted a constantly updated summary of blog postings about foot and mouth at FeedReel.
One Comment
Hmmn. It seems whether bird flu, foot and mouth or otherwise, we’ll never be far from these types of problems. The shame is that it still doesn’t change people’s attitudes to mass farming.