Originally from: coleen
                        
So if the pigs from the IoW were suspect (could the below account from 1981) perhaps be possible?
.
Airborne spread of the disease takes place readily. The prevailing meteorological conditions and local topography determine the distance that the disease can travel and this may be considerable. For example, circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that the outbreak on the Isle of White in 1981 resulted form the airborne spread of the virus from Brittany in northern France. www.seelb.org.uk/news/seelb-news/ viewnews.cfm?newsid

Did someone import meat, animals even, illegally from France. Keeping in mind the account last week that we illegally import seven and a half thousand tons of meat into the UK every year, and not ALL bush meat. We illegally import more pork chicken beef etc, then France and Uruguay's sell us legally..

I am coming to the belief that there will never be any answers. I think that fmd was here long before it was ever really detected so therefore an answer is impossible. Perhaps the catalyst was BW or Cheales in Essex – although I tend to think that it was humans who did the most damage. The vets, army, defra operatives I think they took the virus from farm to farm. I do not mean intentionally – but just in the manner they were operating under. By the time the balloon went up everyone was running round like headless chickens and taking fmd with them (although not to the extent I first thought) A whole spiral of events then took over. The election was looming, tourism was suffering, farming within itself could not agree on the correct procedure it was a mess. Someone gave the signal to 'cull' and that's what happened. Add that to a Government who does it's own thing and seldom backs down – we have the recipe for what took place.

I have reached this theory by looking at everything MAFF/DEFRA did once any outbreak was suspected and announced.. They never stopped the movement of animals, they did not stop auctions (until days into the outbreak) the restriction zone was far too small – in other words they knew that fmd from animal to animal was not the main concern. Why? Because they already knew of cases within sheep (perhaps other animals for all we know) and they had managed to keep the lid and the spread of it minimal and secret. It was only when it arrived at Cheales that the lid was blown right off.

Compare all of this as to how they go OTT over any threat (real or unreal) regarding a terrorist threat. They take NO chances they shut down if the need arises.

When Duncan spoke to Doctor Keith Sumption Tropical Animal Health he told about an experiment where wild pigs (I think) but the crux of the matter was that the pigs all housed together only 1 showed and went on to develop fmd. So he disclaimed the virus spreading through pigs like wildfire and animals spreading it like vast plumes of smoke, he also contested the distance that fmd could travel.

If it was so rife and such a threat to the animals then 80% (hope this figure is correct) of the animals taken out as DC, would not have tested clear.

I firmly believe that animals if fit healthy and not living in over crowded conditions can survive fmd and that not all of them will go onto develop it. So I still do think that fmd was here before it turned up at Cheales and BW. I hold the view that he fitted the perfect scenario as being the one to start the outbreak simply because there always has to be a villain to blame. You have got to lay the blame for killing millions of animals and more importantly the billions it all cost at someone's door, especially if you were aware of it before and did not act.

I believe that if it was SO rife then it would still have been spreading and still perhaps with us. It would have surely kicked off again somewhere. We did not stop it, we only killed as many animals as the 'money' allowed. Not every animal was tested...

One Vet told us that they were testing the sheep on the Cumbrian fells at the so called height of the outbreak – the sheep were testing negative. Shame that Vet never questioned the regime at the time. Look at our sheep, smack bang in it the middle of it all – tested clear. One farm of dairy cattle also survived. Why? Because he never allowed anyone on his farm (as we did not) no vehicles nothing, also perhaps because fmd does not travel as D KS and other have said.

I would gladly put all this behind me if we could move forward and introduce vaccination. We have to keep on fighting for that. If we learn and achieve nothing else then that would do me.

Coleen

Coleen