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August 04, 2007
Here's another nice mess?
Living in rural surroundings the prospect of another outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease is not one to contemplate with any pleasure. The response from our lords and masters in Whitehall has, however, been commendably quick on this occassion, perhaps some of the lessons of the last debacle have penetrated the corridors of power after all. We are told that the Dour Leader himself is on the way home from his hols to deal with it and his Agricultural Secretary is also homeward bound from Italy to be on hand.
Wisely, perhaps, the French and the rest of Europe have closed their borders to British meat. But I would suspect, from where this has occurred, that it may already be too late. More importantly perhaps we need to know where it came from to get here!
Last time the blame fell upon a pig farmer not cooking his pig swill either long enough or hot enough, I wonder who or what they will find to blame this time? Equally, perhaps it is past time to innoculate all animals against this terrible disease. That will, of course, be resisted by the farming community because they know that if they do so it will mean a permanent ban on their products across the EU, but should it? Why, if the animal has been innoculated, should it be seen as a threat? Surely the purpose of innoculation is to ensure that the disease is eradicated and does not spread or infect others?
No one wants to see the great pyres of slowly burning carcasses we saw up and down the country last time. That is too ghastly to contemplate. So let us hope that there is a quick and less drastic solution this time - and particularly let's have a dose of common sense to support the farmers affected by it. Now is not the time to start a "blame game" now is a time for solutions. Let's find some and let's not have all the usual spin and meaningless statements from Whitehall's chinless wonders.
I think it is long past time that the politicians stopped meddling and trying to 'manage' things they know nothing about and focussed instead on how they can get the sensible precautions that are needed to prevent the spread of this ghastly disease properly recognised and used. We cannot hide our heads in the sand and declare that we are not affected by Foot and Mouth, the fact is that we are.
So let's deal with it.
Posted by The Gray Monk at August 4, 2007 04:09 PM
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