Farm disease inquiry chief named

Devon farmers will have their own public inquiry

An expert on rural conservation and environmental issues will head the public inquiry into the foot-and-mouth crisis being launched by Devon County Council.

Professor Ian Mercer was Secretary General of the Association of National Park Authorities from 1995 until he retired this year.

Devon has seen 173 cases of foot-and-mouth confirmed during the outbreak and the inquiry's findings will be used to support funding bids for Devon's economic recovery plan.

Devon has been badly hit by the epidemic

The inquiry is the first to be launched by a county authority, and aims to see what lessons for the future can be learned from the outbreak.

Professor Mercer said: "We as a society need to know how to avoid a repetition of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth, the way we deal with it, and its aftermath.

"The interdependence of the rural economy, the countryside, visitors and their hosts has been revealed to everyone in the past six months as never before."

National inquiry

The 68-year-old fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies has lived in Devon since 1959.

During his career he has been chief officer for the Dartmoor National Park Authority, and the first chief executive of the Countryside Council of Wales.

The inquiry will support Devon's bid for recovery money

Devon County Council Leader Brian Greenslade said Professor Mercer would help make the inquiry's findings an authoritative statement on behalf of the people of the county.

Devon Foot and Mouth Inquiry Committee will hold public hearings at County Hall, Exeter, from 8-12 October.

Agencies and interest groups involved in responding to the outbreak will be invited to give evidence

The public can contribute in writing or via the council's website, by 28 September.

The government earlier this month announced a three-stranded inquiry to examine transmission, prevention and control of epidemics, and the future of farming and food.

A public report on Devon's findings will be submitted to the appropriate national inquiries in the autumn.