Farmers feeling shocked and angry

Farmers cannot move their livestock under the ban

Farmers have spoken of their fear, anger and confusion as the authorities try to determine the cause the latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Reports that the virus might have escaped from the Pirbright research facility have provoked disbelief among farmers whose businesses are on hold while the movement ban on livestock is in place.

Sarah Smart, of Barton Ley Farm in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, said: "I am anxious that we could end up in the horrific situation we were in last time.

"Also, I can't believe that if this is right and it has come from Pirbright.

"I am sickened by the thought of this, these things shouldn't be happening."

'No information'

Mrs Smart, who has 50 to 60 cows in her herd, was not affected during the 2001 outbreak as she has a "closed herd", meaning she breeds her own animals.

She has criticised the government for not giving farmers enough information, as she said she knew about the ban on moving livestock only from the media.

"We are not getting any information from the government or the local authority.

"I would have thought that after the last outbreak one of the contingencies should have been that they would get in touch with livestock people directly, rather than hope that we, especially at this busy time of year, are reading papers, watching TV or listening to the radio," she said.

"The local authority's trading standards would know all of the livestock farmers in the area and you would have expected that they could get on the phone or send an e-mail and keep us informed."

'Incensed and angry'

Andrew Geary, of Yew Tree Farm, Milton Keynes, farms cows and sheep and says he has gone through a range of emotions.

"It's very, very, very mixed. We have gone from turmoil on Friday, to a sense of, 'how could this happen?', to incensed and angry to find it has possibly come out of a government research lab or somewhere the government has licensed to produce a vaccine which in this country isn't ever going to be used."

Mr Geary said that after the 2001 outbreak the livestock industry, government and the NFU decided that the vaccine programme was not the right thing to adopt as they wanted to work towards foot-and-mouth-free status.

"In the short-term we can't move anything, but in the long term the market will be damaged for meat producers for at least six months," he said.

Mr Geary, who has 50 cows and 300 sheep, said the outbreak had also happened at a bad time of year.

The breeding season started in August and he had a six-week window in which to sell his sheep. He started taking them to market last Friday but has had to stop because of the movement ban.

However, he said the government had acted quickly and "very well".

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