FMD crisis offers hope

Lessons can be learned from the 2001 foot-andmouth outbreak on how to rebuild after devastating social and economic loss caused by a virus, people who lived through it have said.

On February 19 2001, the highly contagious virus was detected at an Essex abattoir, and over weeks and months it spread around the country, leading to six million farm animals being culled.

Farmers went into selfisolation to prevent disease spread and children were kept off school – and people were told to keep away from the countryside, effectively shutting it down.

Funeral pyres burned on farms across the country, a general election was delayed, sporting fixtures were postponed and the Army had to be brought in to help.

Although stringent measures were brought in for livestock holders, footand-mouth disease (FMD) spread rapidly and the government was criticised for its slow response.

Those who lived through it have drawn comparisons with the coronavirus pandemic, but also say they are hopeful that the country can bounce back – like they did after 2001.

Claire Bland farms in the Eden Valley, Cumbria, with husband Steven, and they have built up a thriving ice cream business in the 20 years since FMD struck them and many of their neighbours.

After their herd was culled they switched to Jersey cows, opened a tea room and began making ice cream. Mrs Bland said their business was resilient after they had gone through the “dark time” of 2001.

Economist Dr Charles

Trotman, of the landowners’ association the CLA, said he was confident rural businesses – particularly those that survived 2001 – were in a good position to bounce back in 2021.

He said: “We think rural tourism businesses will be able to rebound far more quickly than they were able to after FMD.”

Kathleen Robertson was a vet at Edinburgh University when she volunteered to help during the crisis in 2001, and was sent to Dumfries to work in infection control.

She recalled the terrible consequences for farmers whose livestock were culled, wiping out generations of breeding.

But she also remembered the camaraderie of the vets who stepped up to help during the crisis.

She said: “When you are put in a crisis, it’s always a learning experience.”

OUTBREAK: Foot-and-mouth disease hit the UK in 2001.