Second Foot And Mouth Outbreak In The UK

The second reported outbreak of Foot and Mouth in the UK has been traced back to the original strain from the outbreak a few weeks ago.  Many are asking why clearance was given so quickly when the first outbreak happened, and was there any political pressure placed upon the country’s top vet to clear the first outbreak - resulting in a blaze of glory for the government.

David Cameron has already been asking the question with regard to political meddling, and the farming unions are up in arms about another outbreak so soon after the first outbreak was “contained”.  The fact that the original source was a government  funded research laboratory, which had seen its funding reduced, has just added more flames to the fire.

While it may well be that this most recent outbreak can be contained in a short space of time, the damage to the UK farming industry could last for years.  The industry is already competitive enough on a worldwide basis, without giving foreign farmers the opportunity to even consider banning UK produce.  

This second outbreak has done a whole lot of damage to the reputation of Gordon Brown who took effective control first time around, although the damage to the UK farming industry could be huge!