Hi everyone,
Foot and mouth is a particularly virulent virus superbly adapted for
survival. It lives up to six months, is resistant to cold, travels on
clothes, boots, cars and scarily can travel 150 km on the wind. Wild
animals, also transport the disease. Everything with two hooves, deer,
goats, pigs, sheep and cows is susceptible.
On farms the disease spreads explosively, breeding and replicating at
enormous speed. It causes mostly economic damage taking milk, meat yields
out, causing abortion etc to the extent that farm economics are wasted and
leads to most of the EC internal and external market countries banning
imports.
UK and EC policy is to enforce movement restrictions and slaughter affected
or contact herds, including wild animals if they are involved. Currently
this is the only means of control the industry has.
Access to restricted areas is illegal and carries heavily penalties. But
beyond this walking across farm land, or open ground can spread the disease
easily. Motorists are also recommended to avoid minor roads as much as
possible. Farmers have to carry on working and take strict disinfectant
measures, but these are far from 100%.
If like me, you value the access to field outcrop, including coastal
sections and the hills both professionally and personally please reorganise
your research and teaching to stay well away.
Reschedule your Easter trips completely, and make contingency plans for lab
based work rather than field work this summer. Restrictions and risk to
farms may well continue well into the summer. It would be a PR disaster for
our science if geologists inadvertently, or were thought to have,
contributed to the spread of this problem. As a profession we rely on the
good will of the majority of farmers and landowners so they need our help
now.
This problem now exists in Germany, Belgium and France as well as the UK and
Ireland. Hopefully the mainland Europe countries will avoid further spread
but we will see new cases in the Uk and Ireland. So it does matter to many
of us on this discussion list, and please tell your colleagues.
Info in the UK from www.MAFF.gov.uk
Alan
Alan Gibbs
Director
Midland Valley Exploration
14 Park Circus
Glasgow
G3 6AX
tel: 44 (0) 141 332 2681
fax; 44 (0) 141 332 6792
[log in to unmask]
www.mve.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Paul D. Ryan
Sent: 05 March 2001 12:36
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Foot & Mouth
I have had several enquiries about the effect this outbreak will have
upon field work in the Republic of Ireland.
The Government has, until further notice, requested that all such
activities cease. Further information can be had from
www.irlgov.ie/daff (Department of Agriculture, Food & Rural
Development). I will post news if this situation changes for the
better.
Paul D. Ryan,
Geology Department,
NUI Galway.
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