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13/09/07
The Tenant Farmers Association has described the news of a
fresh outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Surrey as heartbreaking.
The additional news that the virus is of the same strain as that
which leaked from the Pirbright laboratories and caused the first
outbreak at the beginning of last month heightens the pressure
on the Government to compensate the industry for the losses it
will inevitably suffer.
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TFA National Chairman Reg Haydon said “I cannot believe
we are back to square one with this new outbreak. If we thought
the virus leak from Pirbright was serious before this happened
there is now no excuse the Government can give for not compensating
for the losses that will accrue as we work to tackle this new outbreak.”
“The TFA members with livestock I have spoken to are naturally
angry, upset and demoralised. For many, particularly in the hills,
it is this time of the year when they gain the bulk of their income
as they sell the crop of lambs and calves to finishing farms on
low lying land. What chance have they got now? Where are they going
to get the feed to sustain those animals through the shut down
period? I will be asking the Government to move quickly to put
in place measures to deal with these issues,” said Mr Haydon.
“This is one of the busiest times of the year for livestock
sales. The biggest ram market of the year was due to take place
on Friday in Kelso and the £60,000 of cost to stage that
event will be a total loss along with the much needed income to
those selling. The whole cycle of livestock production will be
hit hard. The TFA urges the Government to look constructively at
ideas for how this might be resolved perhaps through the use of
virtual markets” said Mr Haydon.
“Of course we have got to hit this hard and do all we can
to eradicate this disease once and for all. That is why the national
movement ban of livestock is a necessary evil. However, alongside
that we need a package of measures which compensates the industry
for its losses and, where possible, allows some activity to carry
on,” said Mr Haydon.
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