Monday May 7,

Farm Fight

In Somerset where Exmoor farmer Christopher Thomas-Everard is fighting a decision to slaughter his large herd of cattle - the first earmarked for culling at the beauty spot since the crisis began.

Maff has warned large numbers of animals are to be culled on farms visited by a contract worker at the centre of an outbreak of the disease in Wiveliscombe.

Mr Everard-Thomas says he does not accept the decision and hinted that slaughterers will be blocked from entering his land. Ar raid sirens were on standby to summon local support if attempts were made to start the cull, he added.

Foot And Mouth Latest

Government officials are taking legal action so they can go ahead with the cull of a huge herd of cattle on Exmoor. The animals will be the first to be culled in the area.
Taxidermist Ian Fraser says he is losing business because fewer people travelling round the country means fewer road kills to stuff. Normally the spring is boom time for taxidermists, as animals cross roads in search of mates.
Dozens of animal rights activists have protested at the slaughter of sheep and goats at an animal sanctuary, the Mossburn Animal Centre in Hightae, Dumfries and Galloway.
The tourist industry received a boost after the foot and mouth crisis as day trippers made the most of the warm Bank Holiday sunshine. An upturn in visitor numbers has been reported in many locations. Yet many footpaths across the country, even in areas not affected, remained closed.

Government faces legal threat over disease culls By Michelle Green

LONDON (Reuters) - A farmer and the owner of an animal sanctuary whose livestock have been given the all clear from foot-and-mouth disease have launched legal challenges against the government to prevent the cull of their healthy animals.

Exmoor farmer Christopher Thomas-Everard and Juanita Wilson, who runs the Mossburn Animal Centre in Drumfries, Scotland, are fighting the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) to prevent foot-and-mouth officials from entering their land to carry out the slaughter. "It would be an appalling waste of life to put down healthy cattle," Everard, whose family runs two farms in the southwest England, told BBC radio. "This is a political decision and we do not accept it. They are not beyond the law." The farmer said he would not be launching the challenge if he thought there was the slightest risk of spreading the infection.

But MAFF veterinarian David Bowman told BBC radio that the farm was considered a "dangerous contact" and identified as a risk. The ministry said thousands of cows on the two farms would have to be slaughtered because of fears that a farm worker had come into contact with the disease. "We are following a strategy that has worked extremely well in the large disease centre of Devon and Cumbria," Bowman said. "We have a job here to protect all the farmers and thousands of people who depend on Exmoor being viable and free of disease. There is so much at risk here."

In Scotland, Wilson has been joined by more than 75 animal rights protestors and local people to prevent officials from culling her rescued animals.

She has put more than 10,000 pounds of her own savings into the fight and has opened an appeal fund to help her take the battle all the way to Brussels. "Not only will I take legal action, I'll go right up to the House of Lords and on from there to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary," she told Reuters. "The work we do here is very important." The sanctuary, home to three sheep, 14 goats, 15 pigs and four cows among other animals, provides work for disabled and troubled children. More than 1,500 cases of foot-and-mouth have been confirmed in Britain since the crisis began and around 2.5 million animals have been slaughtered.

Cull-threat farms to fight decision

The family whose huge cattle herd is due to be the first slaughtered on Exmoor since the foot-and-mouth crisis began has said it will fight the decision.The Ministry of Agriculture said a large number of cattle would be culled at an unnamed group of farms in the National Park after it had been visited by a contract worker at the centre of an outbreak at Wiveliscombe, Somerset.Christopher Thomas-Everard confirmed the farms in question, which cover hundreds of acres between Bridgetown and Dulverton, are run by his family but he did not accept the decision.Mr Thomas-Everard said he has instructed lawyers to fight the decision and hinted he would not allow slaughtermen and soldiers on to the land.He said: "It would be an appalling waste of life to put down 980 healthy cattle."We have had a vet here today who inspected the animals in detail and said they were clear. This is a political decision and we do not accept it. They are not beyond the law."We have five people working for us who all have families. There is no reason to have six families ruined."Mr Thomas-Everard's farms, now run by his son Guy, have been designated as a so-called "dangerous contact" after a visit 11 days ago by de-horning contractor Rob Norman from Wiveliscombe.Last week four new cases of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed in the Wiveliscombe area in a development a senior vet described as "extremely worrying".Three of the four cases involved Mr Norman's animals and last week the ministry confirmed it was investigating up to 15 farms he had visited in the region.

Back