FOOT AND MOUTH - "The burning anger of us peasants"

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ET 31 march RWF Poole is getting ready for the next Countryside March

WILL there be another march? The answer to that is yes - at the right time. When will the right time be? I do not know. We shall have to leave that to the Countryside Alliance. I have had my doubts about the CA in the past, but I gladly admit that they have got most of it right, most of the time.

It will certainly be after the May election. I say May, not because I am privy to inner Government circles, but because of Blair's obvious determination (at the time of writing). I think we can assume that Blair knows that there is something very nasty hiding in the political woodshed and he wants to get the election done and dusted before it escapes - never mind the foot and mouth crisis.

The Government's initial response (or lack of it) was complacent. Had they shut everything down at the first whiff of foot and mouth (as the Irish have done) there would have been a good chance of controlling it. Instead, they let it run. New Labourites may have thought it no bad thing. Foot and mouth might achieve the ethnic cleansing of these foul people that New Labour longs for. With the ruin of the rural "criminal elements", the deserted steadings could be bought cheap by the urban middle classes and the countryside become the theme park desired by the Government and its supporters.

The Government's handling of the crisis needs a little more exploration. I am old enough to remember the 1967-68 outbreak. This outbreak was mostly confined to about three counties on the Welsh Marches. There were several reasons for this, but perhaps the most important was that, as soon as an outbreak was confirmed, the vets began slaughtering. This time they have been up to their wellies in red tape.

Furthermore, the authorities quickly discovered that incineration was inefficient and often logistically impossible. The burial of carcasses under quicklime was quicker and more effective. It would be today, but such measures would require approval from the Department of the Environment. There is nothing quick or effective about the D of E.

This is especially so where political correctness is involved. It is assumed that all vets are experts in the use of the pistol for "humane killing". This is not the case - many vets have never used one. Hunt servants are skilled in their use and practiced in putting down casualty stock. I had a fax from a huntsman. In the early stages, he was called in by officialdom and shot 400 sheep and 70 cattle. Then the papers got to hear of it and Elliot Morley, who hates hunting people more that he cares for animal welfare, has now forbidden help from members of hunt staffs.

I have other horror stories, but no space to write them. Suffice it to say that Government inefficiency will keep the pyres smoking. Oh yes, there will be another march. The burning anger of us peasants will demand it.

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2001


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