Threat of legal action against the government over foot-and-mouth

Published on Saturday 8 September 2007 00:43

The latest foot-and-mouth scare prompted the cull of 576 animals, cost the industry £30 million and the European Union banned the export of British beef Picture: PA

FARMERS are considering legal action after an official report into the foot-and-mouth outbreak blamed poor maintenance and leaky drains at a government agency.

The report, by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said the outbreak was caused by cracked pipes belonging to the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in Pirbright, Surrey.

The original source of the virus was Merial Animal Health, a commercial laboratory that also occupies the Pirbright site; but HSE said cracks in the shared drains combined with torrential rain and nearby building work had allowed it to spread. The disease was first detected just over a mile away, in a herd of cattle kept by farmer Roger Pride.

The discovery, on 3 August, prompted a cull of 576 animals and cost the industry 30 million; the European Union also imposed a three-week ban on the export of British meat.

Investigators found pipework had not been adequately maintained or repaired, even though IAH, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was aware of the drainage problems. Letters between Defra and Merial Animal Health reveal discussions about upgrading the pipe work in 2004. But disputes between Merial and IAH as to who should foot the bill for the work meant the pipe was never replaced.

Jim McLaren, the president of the National Farmers' Union Scotland, said lawyers were now examining the report.

He said: "The shock of facing a second foot-and-mouth outbreak in six years has been overtaken by anger.

"Scotland's farmers are struggling to contemplate how a government facility, established to help protect us from disease, looks to have unleashed one of the most infectious animal diseases on earth."

HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger, said his team's examination of the Pirbright site showed "long-term damage" to the pipework of the effluent system, which could have allowed the disease to escape.

"It was absolutely essential that this pipework was fully contained, and it was not," he said.

He stated: "It's now pretty clear that the outbreak originated at Pirbright. It isn't possible to pinpoint the exact source."

Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn said the way in which the virus was spread was a "unique and unhappy combination of circumstances".

But he said: "There can be no excuse for the fact that foot-and-mouth disease escaped from the Pirbright facility. It should not be possible for a live virus to escape from a secure laboratory, it should not have happened even under these extraordinary circumstances and must not happen again."

CHIEF VET ENDS ALL RESTRICTIONS AS OUTBREAK IS DECLARED OVER

BRITAIN's latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth is officially over, declared Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds yesterday.

"I am satisfied that foot-and-mouth has been eradicated from the UK in 2007," she said.

She added the surveillance zone around infected premises would be lifted at noon today - the earliest such a move could be made under European legislation.

Restrictions outside the zone will also be lifted.

The government imposed a ban on livestock movements after the outbreak was first detected on 3 August.

Restrictions on taking animals to abattoirs were lifted earlier in Scotland, but many movements of livestock - such as sending animals to market - were still banned in England until two weeks ago.

Foot-and-mouth was eventually confirmed at just two farms within a 6.2 mile surveillance zone in Surrey, and two further farms in the area were found clear of the disease. Further tests on cattle at a farm in Romney Marsh, Kent, and animals at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey have also proved negative.

The last outbreak of the disease, in 2001, became a national epidemic. It lasted for seven months and cost the country 8billion.