3 May 2001
I want today to bring you up to date on foot and mouth disease and in particular welcome here journalists and broadcasters from the foreign news media.
Foot and mouth disease has been an unpredictable and rampant virus that has been extremely difficult to control.
It is why we have had to put in place an extraordinary operation - logistical, scientific, strategic - to deal with it.
Today I want to pay tribute to all those people who have worked so hard to fight this disease and bring it under control.
To all the vets, from Britain and from all over the world who came to help. To our armed forces, who showed us once again that they are a force for good in the world - and in our own country too.
To all the scientists involved, and to the civil servants in MAFF and all the other Government departments and local government who have applied themselves to help.
To the contractors, to the police, to all those involved in combating foot and mouth.
But perhaps a special word should go to the farmers themselves who have suffered greatly from this terrible disease, and yet still co-operated with the dreadful business of culling out their livestock. And to everyone else in the countryside who have stood by them, and stood by their country at a time of need.
Because of this huge effort we are getting the disease under control. We have now all but completely cleared the backlog of animals waiting to be slaughtered as well as the backlog waiting to be disposed. But it is not over yet. We cannot in any way be complacent and it is essential we remain fully vigilant.
I can announce that the backlog in Devon, the final outstanding area, should by the end of today be almost cleared. This will mean that no more pyres to dispose of large numbers of carcases will be lit after today. We have released more than 16,000 farms from infected area restrictions. The number of animals slaughtered each week is falling dramatically.
Logistically, handling it has been an enormous exercise. The biggest peacetime logistical challenge the Army has ever faced.
The scale of combating foot and mouth disease has far exceeded the logistical demands of the Gulf War, for example. Brigadier Wood, who is in operational charge of handling the defence logistics, is here this morning.
There are still, however, 1,600 troops in operation. We will remain on watch. We will not slacken our guard against foot and mouth. The risk remains of cases arising, in areas which are already infected, or in new areas. Continuing vigilance is essential. We know there is a great deal to do yet to clean up our farms and to restore our tourist industry. This will not be an overnight process. It will be a long haul.
It is absolutely vital that, as we bear down on the disease, and as the number of cases falls, farmers do not drop their guard in protecting their farms from the virus.
The leaders of all the main farming unions that I met this morning agree on the importance of maintaining proper biosecurity measures. Nick Brown will say more in a moment about our plans to contact farmers in infected areas so that they will know exactly what needs to be done.
When foot and mouth is fully eradicated, some will move on. But we know for farmers and the countryside in general this will remain a time of great change and great anxiety. We will do all we can to help people through those changes. Our work will not stop when foot and mouth is gone.
As the FMD epidemic recedes, attention is rightly turning to the question of a recovery plan for the livestock industry. The Government does see a case for helping those farmers most affected by the crisis to take rational and sustainable decisions on their future.
I have asked Nick Brown to look with the industry and other stakeholders at a recovery plan designed to address these and other issues. Our aim must also be to ensure that re-stocking helps achieve our wider objectives on the environment, food safety, animal welfare and animal traceability. Partly by providing business planning and consultancy advice, we must continue the aim we set out in our Agriculture Strategy of making British farming more market-oriented, more innovative and more diverse.
For country areas more widely - especially those which are heavily dependent on tourism - which have seen their livelihoods jeopardised, their incomes reduced and their futures threatened too, foot and mouth has been just as difficult.
On tourism, we have announced a series of measures to help the tourist industry and rural businesses, including rate relief, backing small firms loans and deferred tax payments. John Prescott announced earlier this week a £43 million package for regeneration projects in market towns, and yesterday Chris Smith announced an extra £12 million for tourist board advertising.
We are looking at what more RDAs can do to help non-farming businesses facing short-term difficulties.
Easter was better than might have been expected. But with the Bank Holiday weekend coming, the message is still the same: the best way to help the countryside recover from the effects of foot and mouth on tourism is for people to visit the countryside. Be careful, yes. But visit, yes. The countryside is open for business - and for pleasure.
It has been a difficult time for the country.
Of course, no-one here would claim that all of us involved, all of us working together, have got everything right.
Because dealing with this disease has not been like dealing with the last major outbreak in 1967. Today we are publishing a Cabinet Office paper that sets out some of the comparisons - and some of the differences. The outbreak this time has been far more complicated. More difficult to handle. Differently based - on sheep, not on cattle. In an industry which is structured almost entirely differently than it was a generation ago.
And of course, in something that has been highly charged, there have been myths and problems of perception. That, for example, the disease was passing to humans. The truth: all 15 tests have been negative. One reason for doing this press conference today is to draw attention to that fact since the stories of human foot and mouth disease did such damage.
I’m now going to ask our Chief Scientist, Professor David King, to take you through where the battle against the disease has now reached. And we also have here for any further questions Jim Scudamore, the chief veterinary officer.
Nick Brown will then detail the arrangements he will be heading, with the continuing support of the MoD, to keep on top of the disease.
Foot and mouth isn’t beaten yet. We have more to do. But we are on the home straight.
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