Originally from: Peter Greenhill
                        
Yes we confirm this story is inaccurate and that Orf was detected. Mind you, during the FMD disaster of 2001, Defra would not have allowed a proper investigation and hundreds of healthy animals would have been butchered. Of such cases, the worst was the identification of FMD by a Spanish vet (already famous for her lack of English and the question about Herdwick sheep "what sort of goats are these?). Whilst driving past a farm she "saw a positive case of FMD".( from the car window??) All the sheep were subsequently butchered. The farmer mentioned that his cattle were "away" being farmed for more than a year by a friend working 12 miles away. He had not been near them. The ever-cautious Defra butchered all of these cattle and all of the host farmer`s stock as well. And the post-mortem result on the sheep...... yes, you`ve guessed it...........orf. ( oh sorry, final analysis was the after effects of eating nettles.

Why is it that Defra find they are mistrusted?

Peter