Hello Anthony,

Sorry, I didn't get directly to your question.  The problem is:  there is no
way to tell which animal is purely healthy and which animal is a carrier.
Thus, long experience has demonstrated, at present state of knowledge, it is
necessary to approach the disease from an area standpoint because one can't
identify in the area which are not carriers.

If you miss one carrier in the area, the disease pops right back.  And it is
not a question of the cow being "unhappy"; it is in pain, and while some
recover, the expectation must be ultimate death by starvation.

It's not a pretty sight even for some hardened people.

As I recall, Texas has had some serious experience with foot & mouth
disease.  Perhaps you might call the agricultural extension agent or a large
animal veterinarian in your county.  Or contact the vet school at Texas A&M.
After all, my memory may be faulty! :-)

Does this respond to your question?  Does it help?

Sincerely,

Ray
----------


----- Original Message -----
From: "Chiaviello, Anthony" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: PETA steps in it again.


> Leaving aside the cows' unhappiness for a moment, why again is it
necessary
> to kill the healthy ones? It spreads like wildfire, so . . .  no one seems
> to be addressing the issue of why kill hundreds of thousands of healthy
> animals to stop the disease.
> -Tc
> Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
> Department of English
> University of Houston-Downtown
> One Main Street
> Houston, TX 77002-0001
> 713.221.8520 / 713.868.3979
> "Question Reality"
>

[cut John & Anthony comment/question for space]


> > ----------
> > From:         Ray Lanier[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent:         Thursday, April 05, 2001 7:49 PM
> > To:   [log in to unmask]
> > Subject:      Re: PETA steps in it again.
> >
> > Hello folks,
> >
> >
> > Ray here:
> >
> > Speaking as one who has been in and around agriculture all my life.
> >
> > John, imho, you trivialize a very serious disease.
> >
> > Foot/hoof and mouth disease is not like a bad cold, not like mastitis in
> > dairy cows.  It is a disease that spreads like wild-fire.  John, as you
> > noted earlier, the spores spread on the wind... and on clothes, skin, of
> > anyone, animal or human.
> >
> > There are great costs to the producer from loss of production, loss of
> > livestock, without control.  It spreads easily throughout the hooved
> > community - pigs, deer, other wildlife.  And thus, even if controlled on
> > the
> > farm, the diseased wild community is always a threat.
> >
> > And, from a humanitarian view, the disease is particularly cruel to the
> > animal afflicted.  Among other things, it causes sores in the animal's
> > mouth
> > causing severe pain when the animal tries to eat.  So, often, death is
by
> > slow starvation.
> >
> > It is extremely difficult to control.  In the US, in the early days, at
> > much
> > expense by farmers and governments, the foot & mouth disease was
> > controlled
> > here.  It would be criminal and inhumane to countenance the spread of
that
> > disease here or anywhere else.
> >
> > I am very much in favour of more concern with the way we humans treat
> > animals on the farm, in the home, in the university/commercial research
> > laboratories.  But, that statement by a PETA representative is not
> > humanitarian.  It is a statement from an ignorant bigot.  Imho.
> >
> > Ray
> >