Farmers fear 2001 F&M repeat

2007-08-05 18:00

Normandy - British farmers voiced anger on Sunday at signs that a vaccine research laboratory may have been the source of a foot and mouth outbreak, fuelling fears of a repeat of a devastating 2001 epidemic.

Anxiety was highest in the immediate vicinity of the farm southwest of London where the outbreak was confirmed on Friday.

The farm is only a few kilometres away from a animal health research site.

The National Farmers' Union said it was "deeply concerned" that the outbreak may have originated from the Pirbright site shared by the government-run Institute of Animal Health and a private firm manufacturing vaccines.

"Livestock farmers throughout the country will be in a state of anger and amazement to think that a site concerned with animal health may have allowed this terrible virus to get into our farming stock," it said in a statement.

The outbreak on Friday has revived the spectre of the 2001 epidemic in which up to 10 million animals were slaughtered on huge pyres.

Some sense of relief

Many farmers are only just recovering from that crisis, which cost the British economy an estimated £8bn.

There was some sense of relief on Sunday after experts confirmed that the strain involved in the latest outbreak was the same as that used in the nearby research laboratory.

"From the industry's point of view, if within two days of the outbreak we know where the source is, then to a certain extent that makes the ... eradication of this outbreak more straightforward," said farmer John Cross.

But the NFU said farmers would need compensation.

"Once we get to the bottom of exactly what has happened we, as a membership organisation, will have to look at issues of accountability and compensation," it said.

"But that is for the future - right now all our efforts are going into getting on top of this potentially devastating disease."

- AFP