News for APRIL 2001 .

News for APRIL 2001 ................

Sir Ran's spring clean, Western Daily Press, 30th April
Famous explorer Ranulph Fiennes has swapped his snow poles for a litter stick and plastic bag by joining a volunteer group for a special clean up of Exmoor. Sir Ranulph farms at Exford, near Minehead, Somerset, and has stepped into the breach to help prevent the collapse of the moor's annual spring clean-up. For 15 years now he has run on footpaths on the moor preparing for his expeditions, and has always made a point of collecting rubbish he finds on the way.

Support for hunting reaches 10-year high, Daily Telegraph, 28th April
Public support for hunting has reached a 10-year high, campaigners said yesterday. The Countryside Alliance released details of an opinion poll which showed that 58 percent of the public wanted hunting to continue and 37 percent thought it should be banned. The 58 percent figure was achieved by adding the 36 percent who said they wanted hunting to be controlled by a regulatory authority ns the 22 percent who wanted it to be subject to self-regulation. Simon Hart, director of the alliance's campaign for hunting, said the poll showed there was no public mandate for a ban. Four years ago, polls showed more than 70 percent of voters were in favour of a ban and mr Hart said the new figures proved that opinion changed as people were exposed to the arguments. The survey was published as the Middle Way Group announced that it would hold a two-day inquiry into its plan for hunting to be controlled by a licensing system. MPs rejected the middle way when the Hunting Bill was in the Commons. Campaigners claimed it was dead when peers also voted against it.

FMD: EXMOOR, DISINFECTION & RED DEER
Report by Kevin Taylor, Veterinary Consultant for MAFF, 23^rd April 2001
In summary, deer can contract FMD but may have little or no epidemiological significance. The greatest risk they face is direct contact with infected domestic animals: the evidence we have so far, though much too limited to be conclusive, is that this has not happened. Other risks are much lower, and the less direct the route the lower the risk. Cars and people who have not worked with, handled or been in contact with livestock, are unlikely to pose any significant risk of introducing infection to deer and other animals in an area where infection is not already present. Read More .............

Sentenced to death, the horses too dear to keep by Gordon Rayner, The Daily Mail, Monday, 23rd April
These images of a beautiful stallion will stir the heart of every horse lover. But behind the pictures lies a story of profound sadness. Stable owner Kevin Lamacraft is about to have the horse, called Geoffrey, and three of its stablemates destroyed because the impact of foot-and-mouth means he can no longer afford to keep them. Read More ................

This is village life when the hunt is banned' by Daniel Foggo, Sunday Telegraph, 22nd April
Hotels ... stables ... shops ... all empty: the foot-and-mouth crisis gives an Exmoor village a foretaste of the future if hunting is banned. Read More ............

'Double Standards', Brian Best, Western Daily Press, Saturday, 21st April
MAFF have been acused of double standards over the transportation of livestock during the foot-and-mouth crisis. Butcher Gerald David claims officials at the Wheddon Cross sterilisation unit on Exmoor ordered him to seal up air vents on the lorry he used to carry 29 beef cattle between farms. But the Meat Livestock Commission officials - acting for the Ministry - allowed him to keep them open when taking livestock to slaughter. Mr David who has six butchers shops in Somerset and Devon, said the animals arrived very hot and sweating and added: "This is not the right way to move animals, they have got to breathe." A Commission spokesman said certain lorries had been banned because their vent holes could allow animal effluent to leak. In the case of animals going to an abattoir there was no danger.

'Foretaste' of hunting ban, Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 20th April
Tourism in he heart of Exmoor must look seriously at diversification as the knock-on-effects of foot-and-mouth mirrored the situation facing the industry if hunting was banned. Dulverton gift shop owner and West Somerset district councillor Keith Ross has warned hat the current lack of business would be the norm if hunting was outlawed.

'Slaughter sentence' horses reprieved as offers of support flood in from public, Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 20th April
Horses under sentence of slaughter were given a reprieve yesterday (Thursday) after an overwhelming show of public support to save them. Kevin and Ruth Lamacraft's hunter hire business which is based at Knowle Farm, Timberscombe has been decimated by the foot-and-mouth restrictions. And with no income since fFebruary and little prospect of hunting resuming until November at the earliest, they decided some of their 35 horses would have to be destroyed. But, in the few days since their plight became known, they have been literally inundated with offers of help from people willing to buy the horses, home them or just provide grass keep. "We have got pages and pages of offers to sift hrough and the response has been incredible," said Ruth. "Obviously, not all of them will be suitable but I think we can safely say that none of the horses will now have to be slaughtered."
Kevin, who has been hiring out hunters for 20 years, is the third generation of his family in the business. The present crisis has forced the couple, who have two young children, to agree to let their brood mares go, along with some of the "less versatile" horses. Ruth said: "We have got to streamline the operation so that we can carry on when foot-and-mouth is over." With "hard" feed bills alone coming to more than £800 a month, the couple say they have to be realistic. "We have the same outgoings but literally no money coming in. We have a great respet for our animals but unfortunately the bank manager does not eel the same way. We're not the only ones in this situation - virtually everyone in the area is affected. We are optimistic because we have to be and we will just sit tight until this is over."

Lambs lost to foxes, Western Morning news, Friday, 20th April
The number of lambs being killed by foxes has increased since hunting was suspended due to the foot and mouth crisis, farming groups claimed yesterday. The Farmers' Union of Wales and the Countryside Alliance say the lack of control on foxes has resulted in a rise in the number of lambs being killed, especially on upland areas.

Hunt master stands down, Cilla Webb, Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 20th April
The Quantock Staghounds master Paddy Groves is standing down for "personal reasons" and following a "few differences" with hunt officials. Mr Groves, who took over from the former master, Bill Fewings, nearly five years ago, owns the popular Blue Ball Inn at Triscombe, which has a staghound emblem carved into its recently rethatched roof. But this eek mr Groves confirmed that he would relinquish the hunt master's role at the official end of the staghunting season. The hunting season was abandoned shortly after the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in February
Mr Groves said: "There is no particular reason why I have decided to finish. There have been a few differences ut I just eel the time is right." And mr Groves added: "I know some masters go on for years and years but it's a very high pressured job. It's virtually a full-time job." Mr Groves, who said he would continue to hunt, has been the leading official of a hunt most severely affected by the controversial ban on deer hunting on National Trust-owned land, which was introduced in April 1997. A similar move by the Forestry Commission some months later left vast swathes of the Quantock Hills out of bounds. A spokesman for the hunt who asked not to be named, said Mr Groves' departure was a private matter between him and the hunt. A new master is expected to be appointed at the hunt's annual meeting in June.

Why I've put my horses under death sentence, Western Daily Press, Wednesday, 18th April
Animals face destruction as outbreak hits trade. Horse hire boss Kevin Lamacraft faces a bitter decision to destroy his animals after his business was decimated by the foot-and-mouth crisis. Normally spring is Mr Lamacraft's busiest period for hiring out his 40 horses to people following the Devon & Somerset Staghounds and Exmoor Foxhounds. But this March and April he has watched his business dwindle at the Knowle riding centre at Timberscombe, near Minehead. Mr Lamacraft said: "We have lost two-fifths of our business. Normally Easter is our busiest time and we depend on it to carry us through the summer months. We usually get people from America and the length and breadth of this country heading down here to follow the hunt. The Season is supposed to start again in August but it will probably be October, November or even Christmas before hunting starts again. If we don't earn anything until November or Christmas I don't see how we can survive. There is no way we can possibly keep our brood mares and our older horses when the future looks so bleak. We will have to consider sending some horses for slaughter."
Mr Lamacraft who runs the business with his wife Ruth, said it was the worst time he had ever known. He is the third generation of the 90-year-old family business.
It is a similar situation at John and Beryl Dibble's 14 horse hire business at nearby Timberscombe. They said the business had collapsed completely but they were hoping to keep their horses and weather the storm. Minehead farrier Peter Bishop's trade has been about 90 per cent down over the past six weeks and his partner Libby Portch said: "We have never seen anything like this before. March and April are usually two of our three busiest months because you get the hunting and the trekking businesses overlapping, but it's not happened this year." Tack repair business partners Liz Steadman and Linda newsome at Williton, say they will have to try to diversify into leather handbags, belts and dog collars to keep their business afloat.

Horses to be killed! The Times, Tuesday 17th April
Kevin Lamacraft a livery stable owner from Somerset and his distraught family were yesterday thinking the unthinkable: putting down some of their beloved horses. They are among hundreds of tourism businesses that have been brought to their knees by the foot-and-mouth epidemic. Mr Lamacraft's family has run the Timberscombe stables for three generations and they are the largest provider of quality horses on Exmoor. The outbreak has devastated the business, halting all riding on the moor since February and cutting income to zero.

The Daily Mail, Tuesday, 17th April
The foot-and-mouth crisis mean that Kevin Lamacraft is faced with the prospect of putting down some thoroughbreds at his livery stables at Timberscombe, Somerset. All riding on Exmoor moor has been halted since February. "We would usually saddle-up about 40 horses but we haven't hired one," Mr Lamacraft said yesterday.

I had to confront Blair with the truth, says shop owner, Daily Telegraph, Friday, 13th April
A rural tea shop owner, her business in crisis because of foot and mouth, told yesterday why she posed as a journalist to confront Tony Blair. Judy Carless interrupted a press conference outside the Ministry of Agriculture Offices in Exeter to give Mr Blair the "unpalatable truth". She had driven 45 miles from her Tarr Steps Restaurant and Tea rooms in Liscombe, Exmoor, to impress on the Prime Minister the "utter frustration" felt in the countryside. She was simple a "country bumpkin" who felt she had been banging her head against the wall of authority. her business had been forced to close temporarily because of restrictions. "I never imagined that I would find myself confronting a Prime Minister in that way," said Miss Carless, 43. "I was so fired up by the mishandling of this whole situation," she added. "I think I certainly caught him on the hop. He said he would get back to me in 24 hours but I am still waiting." Although no identification was asked for at the press conference, Miss Carless believed she would be discovered before she had the opportunity to make her point. "I went in with the reporters and mingled with them. I got out my reporter's notebook and made myself look like a reporter. I was up next to the people with cameras and microphones. I interrupted and everyone looked at me." She told the Prime Minister: "We don't have the disease on Exmoor, but because of the restrictions my family business has been closed down."

Careful decisions on open areas, Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 13th April
Limited areas within the Exmoor national Park could be open for visitors by this weekend. Officers have made risk assessments and are hoping two wooden areas close to Minehead will be reopened. Car parks at Horner and Bossington could also be back in use. Full details are available on the authority's website: www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or by ringing the hotline, Tel: 01398 322322. Head ranger Bill Gurnett said the decision had to be made with the agreement of farmers, landowners and communities "because the risks we are playing with are very serious."

'Not too much', Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 13th April
Devon & Somerset Staghounds joint master Diana Scott pleaded with the tourist leaders not to open too much of Exmoor while the threat of foot-and-mouth was still hanging over the country. "Hearing that certain footpaths may be opened makes me nervous," she told a meeting at dulverton. "I have tremendous sympathy for tourist businesses, but getting foot-and-mouth would be a disaster, not only or farmers but for Exmoor's herd of wild red deer."

Appeal for Volunteers, Somerset County Gazette, Friday, 13th April
A desperate appeal was launched this week for volunteers to man the disinfectant check-points set up in a bid to keep Exmoor foot-and-mouth free. Park Officers are co-ordinating what has been described as a logistical nightmare, and head ranger Bill Gurnett said there were massive gaps in the rotas. Two people are needed at any one time. A manpower shortage could mean the stations open only 10 am to 4pm. Semi-automated disinfectant units with 10 gallon electrically operated sprays will target the high-risk parts of vehicles, particularly underneath wheel arches. Visitors are being asked to clean their cars before coming into the national park but the check-points, which have to be set up off the highway, are only voluntary. National Park chairman Humphrey Temperley said: "The landscape of Exmoor is such a precious resource, both from a farming and tourism point of view, that we must do all that is humanly possible to try and keep the disease out of the park."
Anyone willing to volunteer for check-point duty should contact Bill Gurnett, Tel: 01398 323665.

USE IT OR LOSE IT !
A plea for our Exmoor village shops by some Concerned Residents (but this applies to all village communities)
No Exmoor resident whether living in a village or out on the moor can be unaware of the vital role played in Exmoor life by the local shop, post office and petrol station. It is not exaggerating to say that they constitute the hearts not of just village centres but of whole parishes, being the centres of communication, the spreading of news good and bad - who's ill, who's better, who needs help, what meeting is on and when, the leaving of messages written and verbal, the link to the local doctors and the pick-up point for prescriptions and for many of us old age pensions. In emergency, both natural and otherwise, it is the nearest village shop that provides the lifeline for those who would run out of food, fuel or basic medical supplies. For years now the remaining village shops have been hanging on by their teeth, the difference between profit and loss in each year being the amount of the tourist trade; that this is so has been due to a conspicuous lack of support by many of us over the years. One cannot expect to buy all weekly purchases from a village shop, but the great majority of staple foods and many other everyday items can be purchased in our local shops - But how many of us make a point of doing so? How many of us use our nearest village shopping centre just to buy our newspaper and a pint of milk occasionally and then regularly go off and make big purchases in Minehead, South Molton or Barnstaple, filling the fuel tank in the supermarket on the way? There is little doubt that this year is going to be appalling for the tourist industry on Exmoor, with potentially calamitous effects on our village shops. So, do we recognise their enormous value to our communities? If we do, are we prepared to do something about it and support them as best we can, both in this time of crisis and afterwards? It really is up to all of us Exmoor residents to use our village shops, post offices and petrol pumps as much as possible - remember ................ USE IT OR LOSE IT !!

Last Orders: The picturesque Carnarvon Arms at tiny Brushford has been shut as tourists and day visitors stay away from Exmoor.
Village pub becomes victim of outbreak. Western Morning News, Saturday, 7th April
The village pub is often seen as the barometer of rural life. Therefore, the closure of the Carnarvon Arms, near Dulverton, clearly shows how foot and mouth has affected Exmoor's economy. Despite the fact that there has not been a single outbreak on the moor, businesses are facing ruin because tourists are cancelling their holidays to the national park. Yesterday around 40 people, from across Exmoor converged in Dulverton to highlight that the national park was not infected with foot and mouth but businesses have been affected by the disease. The protesters, who met outside the Benefit Agency's mobile information centre, stressed that Exmoor was open to responsible visitors and the majority of attractions on the moor were still open. Mike Ellicott, who runs a B&B at Exford, said Exmoor's beleaguered economy needed Governmental support to recover from the epidemic. "We asked our MP Jackie Ballard for help and she sent this benefits van, but you can only claim benefit if you are totally destitute - it was an empty gesture," he said. "I have had no income since the end of February and all my bookings have been cancelled until the middle of May. Foot and mouth has cost me more than £15,000. My wife and I have worked hard to build up a successful business, but it has been destroyed through no fault of our own. The Government should compensate us so we can get through the crisis."
Peter Hendrie of the Exmoor White Horse, said his business was 90 per cent down on the same period last year. "That's right across the board - food, drink, lettings," he said. "The problem is visitors are worried about bringing foot and mouth to Exmoor and they don't want to take anything that could be infectious back with them. That is why we are trying to set up disinection points as people enter the moor. Once that is done people will be confident that they are not bringing anything onto the moor, not taking anything home with them."

Letters Online, Western Daily Press, 6th April
SUBJECT: What does it take to keep scourge out?
FROM: Sue Miller
DATE: 06/04/01 08:09
I have been pressing the Government hard for two weeks to give us a proper answer on when roads can be closed. There can be no better case in the South-west than you highlighted — to protect the Exmoor red deer herd and other hill grazing livestock (We Can’t Afford To Put These Creatures In Peril, Western Daily Press, April 4).
In the Quantocks, too, the casual car user may bring a threat to the hill sheep. Local people know best which roads need closing and which need disinfectant points.
The Minister Lady Hayman has just written back to me to say that if a good case is made then closure will be granted by the Minister. I will ensure that we get a clear answer as to how long that Ministerial permission will take. It ought to be hours, not days.
Sue Miller
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
Liberal Democrat spokesman on Rural Affairs

Ghost Town - The village of Exford, gateway to Exmoor, has seen its spring economy devastated as hunting visitors stay away due to foot-and-mouth, Kate Green reports for Horse & Hound, Thursday, 5th April
Read More

"Exmoor would die without its herd of deer - so why isn't more being done to protect them?"
We can't afford to put these creatures in peril, Charlie Ripman, Western Daily Press, 4th April
Exmoor for years made a living from tourism. Yet farming has been the basic industry - but the land will not take the heavy stocking rates needed in today's intensive agriculture. So the farms and villages of the moor turned to the tourist for salvation long ago and have succeeded in earning a good living by giving visitors what they want. There is beauty, protected by the National Park; there is walking, supported by the farmers who opened their land to the walkers long before any thought of the right to roam. Exmoor thus offers the kind of idyll that has long lured tourists to England's green and pleasant land. There is, however, one priceless asset that is unique to the moor. It has the finest herd of wild red deer in the world, a herd accessible to the tourist at every turn of the road. People come year after year to Exmoor specifically to see the deer." It may be to see the stags in the rut or to see the hinds with their calves in the summer, and it might even be to see them in the hunting field. For whatever reason, the red deer herd of Exmoor is a priceless asset to one of the last wild places left. Exmoor without the deer would die. But with the advent of foot and mouth the herd is in terrible danger. Only once in its history has it been in anything like such peril - when the pack of staghounds was sold to France and there was no way to manage the herd. This time the danger is unseen and creeping closer - if the virus gets a hold among the deer the result does not warrant thought. For this reason, many of those on the moor are prepared to remain isolated to protect the herd. Hoteliers, shopkeepers, local craftsmen, owners of holiday cottages, laundries and bakers all feel the same. For them the long term is too important to be overtaken by a rush to save just one year's takings. Some, however, face losing all in one bad year and everyone feels for them.
The need now is for a disinfectant barrier to protect the moor. The people of high Exmoor want people to stand at mats and spray the cars as they cross them. It is seen to be working on the Irish border and in parts of Cumbria, so why not Exmoor? Peter Hendrie, who runs the White Horse Hotel in Exford, has done some research and can pin-point 12 to 14 points that need to have these barriers set up. He, like others, is suffering dramatically from the absence of customers. He knows that Easter on Exmoor is the first time that folk (apart from the hunting customers whom he has already lost) start to come up onto the high moor. With the encouragement they are now receiving from the Government, it is possible that some may soon be arriving. The worry is that these welcome visitors may have driven through an infected area. The centre of Exmoor is, after all, only 25 miles from one of the hot sports.
Dr Nigel Stone, the director of the National Park, has looked at the situation and has a plan: "The western boundary of the park is also the border of the infected area; his thinking is that this is the first line of defence. There are some 30 crossing points and he has asked the MAFF to reduce these to just four. The remaining four crossing points would have a proper bath and staff 24 hours a day to spray every car entering the moor. It is thought that it will cost £6,000 per point to set up and then £45,000 a month to run all four points. This proposition has been put to MAFF and it has rejected it. It is clear that MAFF is not prepared to help. Perhaps the disinfectant points are not a guarantee of success. However, it would be a timely reminder to those going to the high moor of the need to take extra care. With its concerns for tourism, the National Park is already looking at the risk assessment of some limited walks in woodland around the holiday centres. This is an issue very much of the moment, but somehow the deer must be protected. Dr Stone understands the problem but is torn between the shops that have taken just 75 pence in two days and those who have lived on the moor all their lives. Should he run with the short or the long term?
Attempts by the pressure group Endangered Exmoor to get MAFF to move have now failed. There is a feeling that something must be done without the ministry. Thus the National Park has asked the county council that the lanes on the west of the moor should be closed and is attempting to set up disinfectant points to be run by volunteers.
The rest of the world has to wait for the outcome, for the fate of one of Britain's greatest natural assets seems to be in the hands of the locals. One can only hope that the fate of the deer has not been lost in a mountain of paper, risk assessments, quantifying reports, costings, meetings and reports. These creatures could be lost forever - and they are far too valuable for that to be countenanced.

Freelance journalist Charlie Ripman has reported on countryside matters for the past 16 years. He was born and brought up in the country and ran a pub on Exmoor for four years.

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