I drove from East Yorkshire where I lived at the time of Foot and Mouth. An area with few animals but vast areas of arable land. We were affected by Foot and Mouth but not as drastically as many other areas. I remember on that journey arriving in the Yorkshire Dales and seeing for the first time the absolute devastation.
I saw people dressed in white, covered from head to foot in what at first looked like astronaut suits and then realised what was happening. These people were shooting cattle. The cattle dropped in the field and were followed by a vehicle which picked them up and put them in a trailer and took them to join a large pile of other cattle, indeed a milk herd which also had been shot dead.
It is my most enduring memory and it was shocking and it still haunts me. The cows may or may not have been diseased but this was one way to attempt to stop the virus from spreading. Huge pyres were lit to deal with the mass culling, which smelt terrible and filled the air of the countryside. Over 6 million animals were slaughtered.
A second memory was not to be able to visit the farmers who were having to deal with this emotional trauma. I kept in touch by telephone and tried to offer support, because not only was this people's livelihoods, at the much deeper level, these were animals that farmers had bred and developed over the generations. Cared for them and knew them. There was an emotional attachment. All of this created mental health issues, isolation, fear and a reminder of how vulnerable were all are.
A third memory for me was when I became Chair of the Cumbria Methodist District going to a very rural area, where agriculture plays a huge part in the economy of the county and seeing fields and hills devoid of any animals. There appeared to be nothing. Then little by little I began to see a change as hope developed through the resilience of the agricultural community. Restocking happened. Slowly , fields, hills and mountains came back to life as animal reappeared and many farmers businesses were different as they took the opportunity to diversify.
The fourth memory is from a young person. Farms were out of bounds and many children at school were not allowed home during this period and had to live elsewhere. These children are often forgotten.
This poem was sent to me. Composed by an eight-year-old who did not see his parents during this time but stayed off the farm with relations. He writes:
This poem is no lie
Animals are having to die
Foot and mouth is bad
It makes me feel so sad.
Many farmers were full
But now they are quite dull
Wood, coal and diesel are put on in turn
To help the animals Burn Burn Burn.
Disinfectant mats lie across the roads
Waiting for lorries with their big loads
At night the sky is full of light
From the pyre burning so bright
We're affected by so many cases
It's wiped the smile of all our faces
The sheep and lambs have all gone on the cull
But we've still got cows and 2 Limmy Bulls.