FISHERY CLOSURES CAN BE FOUND HERE: FISHERIES CLOSED
THURSDAY, 5TH APRIL
As total tops 1000 at 1025 there are signs that the disease is being contained. Chief scientist Professor David King says the measures to wipe out foot-and-mouth are “beginning to bite.” Some say the outbreak could be over by June. Over the next two weeks the number of soldiers involved is set to almost double to 2,900.WEDNESDAY, 4TH APRIL Total number of UK cases now stands at 991 as emergency laws to postpone the local elections are rushed through for the first time since WW2. 900 decomposing carcases have to be dug out of their burial pit after MAFF admit a Co Durham pit could pollute an underground spring. But there are signs that the disease is slowing and a new burial pit in Shropshire will speed up the disposal of slaughtered animals.TUESDAY, 3RD APRIL Haigh says put army in overall charge of F&M epidemic. 33 new cases in the UK brings total to 942.MONDAY, 2ND APRIL New case confirmed in Cornwall – Maff claimed the county was disease-free. Total number of UK cases is now 901. The Cheltenham Festival, previously postponed, is cancelled due to an outbreak at Woolstone, five miles away. SUNDAY, 1ST APRIL
The total number of cases in the UK now stands at 860. General election is postponed as Blair does a ‘U’-turn. Agriculture Minister Nick Brown says cattle under five years old can be buried rather than burned to speed up the disposal of carcasses. He claims that burial will pose no risk of mad cow disease polluting water supplies.WEDNESDAY, 28TH MARCH Total cases now 693 as 44 more were confirmed yesterday. Army to take part in mass slaughter. 40,000 sheep to be culled on Anglesey Blair urges people to return to the countryside to bring a halt to the ‘tragic’ effect on tourism industry.TUESDAY, 27TH MARCH Meat infected by the foot-and-mouth virus and smuggled into Britain for sale in a Chinese restaurant in the north-east of England is being blamed as the most likely source of the foot and mouth outbreak. The meat ended up in swill fed to pigs at Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland. Total number of confirmed cases in UK is 649. A mass vaccination programme is now “on the agenda” says Tony Blair.MONDAY 26TH MARCH
The total number of foot-and-mouth cases across the country now stands at 607.
The foot and mouth epidemic could continue until August, throwing summer fishing and the start of the river season into chaos. Regulars on some stretches of the Great Ouse have already been warned the river may not reopen on June 16th.
Now one of Britain’s top vets has confirmed every angler’s worst fears. Professor Roy Anderson told BBC Two’s Newsnight programme the current epidemic was the worst Brirtain had ever seen.
“Although the 1967 outbreak was very serious and resulted perhaps in 2000 cases, this one is likely to be worse,” he said.
Prof Anderson, an edpidemiologist called in to advise the Ministry of Agriculture, said the epidemic might not peak for many weeks and it could be five months before foot-and-mouth was eliminated.
Ministers have launched a campaign to limit damage to tourism and rural industries. Newspaper adverts will encourage the public to visit safe areas.
But there is likely to be little relief for anglers who must cross farmland to gain access to many rivers.
THURSDAY, 22ND MARCH Professor Roy Anderson, a senior scientific advisor called in by the Agriculture Ministry to monitor the crises, has said the disease is out of control and it could take another five months to eliminate it. Yesterday saw 40 new cases found, bringing the total to 435. Three cases were confirmed in Holland. Authorities there decided to fight the disease using a controversial vaccination programme.WEDNESDAY, 21 MARCH Yesterday saw the worst increase in cases – 45 – since the outbreak began, the total number of confirmed UK cases now standing at 394. A suspected case has now been found in Holland. TUESDAY, 20TH MARCH The disease is now a month old and the total number of cases has risen to 348. Armed troops today join the battle against foot-and-mouth. Devon will be the first county where the army will kill and dispose of livestock. The government is still determined to go ahead with a mass cull of healthy sheep in a bid to stop any further spread of the disease, A rural rescue package, which includes cuts to business rates on rural post offices, shops, pubs and petrol stations, is being finalised by Government ministers.MONDAY, 19TH MARCH The number of UK cases tops 300 mark and now stands at 323. Agriculture minister Nick Brown warned the three-week-old outbreak is likely to persist for several months. He said, “It will take at least three months to wipe away residual infectivity before we can get our disease-free status back.” The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates foot and mouth disease will cost Britain £ 9bn this year, three times higher than previous estimates.SUNDAY, 18TH MARCH First confirmed case found in Shropshire as total soars to 297. ‘All out war’ threatened by farmer’s lobby group over planned cull. England waits for consultation with farmers as the cull of healthy animals begins in Scotland.SATURDAY, 17TH MARCH Total UK confirmed cases now stands at 273. Plans for a mass cull of healthy sheep and pigs are put on hold while officials explain the policy to outraged farmers. Three people are fined in Wiltshire for walking on areas banned to the public because of foot and mouth. FRIDAY, 16TH MARCH 18 new cases as total rises to 251. The new cases include a second in Kent and one in Northern Ireland. Four more cases confirmed in Cumbria, and one each in Worcester, Dumfries, Oxfordshire, Devon, Galloway and Anglesey. Farmers prepare themselves for the culling of thousands of healthy animals in a pre-emptive strike.THURSDAY, 15TH MARCH First case in Cheshire confirmed as total reaches 230. Slaughtered animals stands at 131,550, with another 47,000 waiting. Agriculture Minister Nick Brown is expected to tell Parliament of a “pre-emptive strike”. It could involve the cull of 100,000 animals which may have come into contact with infected livestock. WEDNESDAY, 14TH MARCH Total confirmed cases now stands at 205. First case confirmed in France US bans all animal imports from EU Ben Gill, president of the National Farmers’ Union , refuses to rule out the possibility that foot and mouth was deliberately brought into Britain, saying “every conspiracy theory must be considered”. Total fishing ban in Ireland is ‘farcical’, say anglers, following stories of anglers having their tackle confiscated on the beach as people stroll past. And anglers had their tackle confiscated on a lough but told they could then stay on the lough and row anywhere they wanted. All this while the angling tourist industry suffers and people go bankrupt.TUESDAY, 13TH MARCH Nineteen more confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth on Monday brought the total number of cases across the UK to 183. The Ministry of Defence is considering a request for the assistance of Army vets. MAFF has also asked Armed Forces Minister John Spellar for immediate assistance when Snipers and marksmen could be used to destroy animals on open land in infected areas. “Shops, small businesses, pubs, hotels – all are being affected by it,” Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday.MONDAY, 12TH MARCH Sunday saw the biggest jump in cases in a 24-hour period since the crisis began, with 25 new outbreaks bringing the total in the UK to 164. Anti-hunt protesters condemn members of the Cheshire Forest Fox Hunt for going ahead with their annual ball on Saturday. Ireland slams Britain’s handling of a three-week-old outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease as a scandal, but the total fishing ban in the Republic is likely to be relaxed very soon due to the hardship the ban is causing both on anglers with holiday plans and the tourist sector. Minister for Agriculture has indicated that there may be some relaxation by the weekend if there is no confirmed outbreak of the disease. Tories also criticize the Government, sensing the fast-spreading outbreak could become an embarrassment to Tony Blair as he prepares to call a general election for May 3. Number of animals marked for slaughter reaches 127,000, of which 90,000 have already been killed.SATURDAY, 10TH MARCH Britain was today braced for more foot and mouth cases after a second wave of the virus was discovered to be sweeping the country. Twenty new cases confirmed yesterday bringing total to 127. First case in Somerset confirmed, on a sheep farm near Axbridge. So far, 73,000 animals have been destroyed in hopes of stopping the spread.FRIDAY, 9TH MARCH
Total cases now stands at 107. Four confirmed outbreaks in previously unaffected counties have put an end to hopes the spread of the disease was at its peak. Other cases confirmed yesterday included ones in Beatworthy, Devon; Brockhampton, Worcs; Llanddaniel Fab, Anglesey; Wigton and Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria; two in Martson on Dove, Derbyshire, and two more in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. As the number of confirmed cases reached 107, Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore said the crisis was going to last a “long time”. He said 89,000 animals had been earmarked for slaughter, of which 61,000 had already been culled. “We will not see the disease disappearing at the end of this week and this outbreak is going to last for a long time,” said Mr Scudamore.THURSDAY, 8TH MARCH Faint hopes that the number of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease may already have peaked were dashed yesterday as 15 more cases were confirmed. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 96. Four more counties are now affected as North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Berkshire and Derbyshire all recorded their first cases of the disease. Investigators are trying to trace how the cattle and sheep in those counties contracted the disease. The 15 new cases were found at: DEVON: Highampton, Winkleigh; WORCS: Chaddesley Corbett; CO DURHAM: Muggleswick; CUMBRIA: Two farms at Arthuret, Netherfield, and Kirkandrew-on-Esk; DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY: Ruthwell, Hightae and Tundergarth; NORTH YORKS: Hawes; WEST YORKSHIRE: Queensbury; DERBYSHIRE: Hilton; BERKS: Hungerford.WEDNESDAY, 7TH MARCH Experts say disease will peak soon. National tally of F&M cases hits 81 following two more cases confirmed in Cumbria. Livestock markets in the EU banned and curbs imposed on the movement of animals across borders. There are will still no plans to kill wildlife in Dartmoor National Park. Nationwide, 80,000 animals have been earmarked for slaughter. 201 abattoirs have now received special licences to slaughter animals again and fresh supplies of meat are getting to supermarkets, but price of meat could rise up to 30 per cent as foreign producers are accused of profiteering.TUESDAY, 6TH MARCH
The number of conformed new cases of F&M in England and Scotland has risen to 74 and spreads to Dartmoor following the discovery of the disease at a Devon farm. South west regional National Farmers’ Union director Anthony Gibson said such a situation would be a “nightmare scenario”. The Dunna Bridge Farm is owned by the Prince of Wales’ Duchy of Cornwall estate. It is hoped that the outbreak may soon be under control as all but one of the confirmed outbreaks in Britain were conclusively linked to diseased animals elsewhere. More fisheries close as the disease spreads to more counties. (Check to see if your fishery is closed – see link below). It was announced yesterday that horse racing will resume on Wednesday but only in areas not affected by the disease. France has banned the movement of horses which means that no French or Irish horses will take part in Cheltenham if the race goes ahead. Supermarket sales of meat are up by 70 per cent and chicken up by 80 per cent as shoppers panic-buy. Councils get tough in Cumbria to curb the disease as a farmer pleads not guilty to breaking the ban on movement. Three other movement cases in Hereford have been adjourned. The movement of animals in Scotland to abattoirs begins as another 170 across Britain are approved for movement. The nationwide ban on transporting pigs, sheep, cows, goats and deer is extended on Friday for another two weeks. All major sporting events in Ireland over the weekend are cancelled Vets from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America fly in to Britain to assist with the foot and mouth crisis and Agriculture Minister Nick Brown pledges three-pronged attack to trace the source of the bug and prevent future outbreaks. Vehicles using the Channel Tunnel are being disinfected under programmes in force at Dover and Calais. More counties are affected in the 2001 outbreak than the 1967 outbreak.
