Pat's Notes:

The FMD outbreak of 2001 has suddenly attracted much activity from pig
producers and piggy vets.

They seem anxious to prove once again the unprovable: that the source
of FMD in 2001 was illegal infected imported meat.

In reality, it was almost certainly a live import that arrived slap
bang into the publicised epidemic of CSF - and the hidden one of
mutated PMWS.

The stories that Maff circulated at the time were deliberate
fabrications and eventually they had to pay secret compensation to
some of those that they blamed.

It was not swill and it was not meat imports, illegal or otherwise. It
was just the usual gross incompetence on the part of Britain's corrupt
government vets. They let a live pig with FMD in and lied to save
their backs.

Anyway both the private vets and the trade are reopening the matter

The private vets have produced this:

http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/8/biosecurity-disinfection/2358/fighting-illegal-imports-to-beat-disease-threat

The trade are circulating a reworked video. I have now seen it and
believe that much of the material is of very dubious providence,
almost certainly unknown to any genuine experts appearing in the
video.

I think I'm right in saying that much of the footage of Heathrow
predates 2001 and the commentary is of about the same vintage.

The film is genuine, the people exist, but that is about all that can
be said for it.

The opinions are highly arguable the facts sometimes plain wrong and
the commentary in one place actually contradicts itself.

The quality of the video does not bother me much. It is typical of
much of what passes for news in matters livestock and agricultural -
puff and propaganda.

However, it is odd that people, aside from me, should want to revisit
the causes of FMD 2001 now in 2008. Even if only to try to reinforce
erroneous conclusions, it seems strange.

Doubt is settling in. That's good. 

It is essential for everyone that we should understand, as best we
can, how disease crosses borders to plague both our farms and our
hospitals.

MAFF were deliberately disseminating fabrications at the time. Why did
they do that?

It is a better starting point than reinforcing old fables.

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:59:38 +0100, Pat Gardiner
 wrote:

Subject should be FMD 2001 of course:  Foot and Mouth Disease.

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/