Foot And Mouth Crisis Essay

The foot and mouth crisis
One of the worst crises in agriculture in the United Kingdom was caused by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture. The depth of the crisis can be judged by the fact that there were no fewer than 2,000 cases of the disease and that over 10 million sheep and cattle were killed in the attempt to halt the disease. The disease primarily the countryside and took root in many regions with Cumbria the worst affected area of the country, with 843 cases. 1.There was also a profound effect on tourism industry due to the closure of public rights of way across land so as to prevent the spread the disease. Estimates vary as to the overall cost of the crisis to the UK economy, but it is thought that the final figure was in the region of £8 billion.

It was, however, notable for the way it affected the whole country. The last outbreak in 1967 had been confined to a relatively small area and The Northumberland report issued by the government after that outbreak recommended that speed was of the essence in dealing with any future outbreak of the disease. Priority should be given to the speedy identification of infected animals and those animals should be slaughtered on the spot within 24 hours, with their carcasses buried in quicklime. These recommendations were no longer in effect by 2001, partly thanks to changes brought about by farming practice and the closure of many local abattoirs which meant that animals had to be transported greater distances. More particularly, Britain’s accession to the European Union had meant that by 1985 new European Union legislation was in effect in the UK. This amended the rules on the treatment of foot-and-mouth in a directive that required confirmation of any diagnosis by laboratory tests and prohibited farm burials and the use of