Originally from: frances fish
                        
Dear Ron, You do not surprise me with what you say of your ram and his scrapie tests. Anyone with an open mind would not be surprised either, they know so little about scrapie but will not admit it. I endorse everything Mark Purdey says on this subject but often feel like a lone voice in the wilderness or like I'm spitting in the wind ! I also have Shetland sheep and it is no state secret that I consider the society, along with certain others, to be acting like lemmings in regards to scrapie testing. The almost total lack of knowledge exhibited by those advocating and promoting the NSP is quite staggering in its immensity(is there such a word ?) If the untimate aim is to decimate the National Flock then it would make a horrible kind of sense, wouldn't it ? It is impossible to ignore the rumours that go around, they come from many sources now, that this is the real objective. Personally speaking, Defra killed out so many of my healthy sheep in 2001 that I do not feel inclined to let them have another opportunity to repeat the performance. I am heartened by the abysmal progress of the NSP, many obviously feel the same as I do. Some will say that it is inevitable, but some may say it was inevitable that Hitler invaded this country so many years ago, but he didn't, did he ?You only have to look to how Australia handles Scrapie to see just how it could be, if only they would look. Just who went rushing off down the road of complete elimination, who pushed, who prodded, who coaxed, who "was economical with the truth", what was their objective ? Scrapie has never ben a big problem in the UK as a whole, there are hot spots, but, even Defra would admit, there is not a human health risk, even if we eat sheep who have the condition scrapie. So, why ? Someone has a vested interest in reducing sheep numbers. If scrapie doesn't work, what then? Will they actually ,finally, find sheep can get BSE ? Will they genetically modify them so they do ? Which brings us back to the question about whether a human being can contact CJD f rom eating meat froman animal that had BSE. No evidence, but some vegetarians have died from CJD. Much money is involved with NOT looking again. As Mark says, there are vested interests which marginalise all dissent and, like Ebringer found out to his cost, starve their research funds. Yes, they "have ways" of making compliance the only option. Look at the hilarious volte face of the researcher into the perils of the MMR vaccine, how can he stand there with a straight face ?This, unfortunately, is what we are reduced to, everything revolves around money, which, as we all know is.... Answers on a post card ?
Frances