A fundamental flaw in the government’s whole response to disease is their attitude of “kill first, ask questions later.” This can be seen in the British 2001 response to Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) where they killed over six million healthy livestock and virtually destroyed small farmers when there were only a few thousand infected animals.
More recently with their 2007 outbreaks of FMD the British Department of Agriculture went in and again killed healthy livestock without testing first.
Foot-and-mouth pigs test negative
A preliminary test for foot-and-mouth disease in pigs culled on a Surrey farm has proved negative, officials say. The full test results will become available on Tuesday. The pigs were on a farm near two premises infected by foot-and-mouth and they were culled as a precaution.
:
Laboratory results have established the virus found at the latest outbreak to be the same strain as the one in August.Reports suggested last month’s outbreak was connected with the Pirbright laboratory site, shared by two occupants - the government’s Institute for Animal Health (IAH) and Merial Animal Health.
Estimates of the cost of the latest outbreak have been put at almost £10m a day.
-BBC
It isn’t enough that the British government laboratory was the source of the disease in every case. They also have to crush small farmers with their “Kill First” attitude. In the process they are killing healthy livestock and destroying small rural farms. With a cost of £10m a day the least they could do is test the livestock for disease before they begin their killing spree.
As discussed here before the Brits aren’t alone in this abhorrent attitude. Governments in other countries have similar “Kill First” policies. In the United States they have it codified but don’t like to discuss this. On page 31 of the GAO document 05-214 they talk about depopulation (killing) of both diseased and healthy animals, both domestic and wild, in 10-km zones around infections. This is one of the big issues that concerns a great many small stakeholders and is alienating people.
Should USDA officially confirm the presence of a disease, such as FMD, the affected herd and all cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and susceptible wildlife—infected or not—within a minimum 10-kilometer zone around the infected farm would be killed.
-GAO Report 05-214 page 31
Some people quite rightly see this as a violation of their 4th Amendment Constitutional rights and protections against warrant-less search and seizure. This will also kill off heritage breeds of livestock, some of which are protected by law. The depopulation program outlined in the GAO document 05-214 will make our country more susceptible to terrorist attacks as well as government bumbling.
Which threat is worse: Terrorists or Totalitarians? Our great nation’s Founders wrote the Constitution to protect us from Big Brother Government. They knew clearly that the greater threat lay in the long arm of the law overreaching it’s bounds. It is time to take back our freedoms from the regulatory agents and other government officials who are trampling our rights and freedoms in the name of “protecting us.”
The proper response to disease should be identification, treatment, prevention, isolation and eradication of the disease - not the victims. We have virtually eliminated diseases such as small pox in humans without resorting to killing off entire cities of victims and innocent bystanders. The same principles apply to small farms. We have vaccines for FMD. The fact that the governments are refusing to use them is an economic issue having to do with big business rather than science, ecology or animal husbandry.
Hmm The Faillace’s sheep were taking away and long before any testing. The tests came back from Ames Iowa all negative. Nothing was wrong with those sheep they killed.
Comment karen taylor — September 23, 2007 @ 11:43 am
And because the totalitarian government is the bigger threat, we need to make sure that Ron Paul wins the Republican primary for president, so he can beat the democrat in November of 2008. It is only three months until the primary/caucus season begins. Those of us against NAIS, need to get on board the Ron Paul campaign. Donate your time and money! http://www.ronpaul2008.com
Comment Tammy — September 23, 2007 @ 11:53 am
What types of education can actually “get to” those who have just been raised “slowly” with so much government control. They never had the freedom this country was born with and based upon. Even my own family members (who raise me with the Live Free or Die motto) have made comments like “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, what do you care about what the government wants to do”. I scoffed and turned away in disgust!
Comment carlene — September 23, 2007 @ 12:26 pm
Tammy, how right you are. Here is the link for Mr. Paul’s closing statement at the most recent debate. It is an excellent commentary and should rouse people who consider themselves members of either political party, or those, like me, who saw through that facade years ago. Also, on the link you gave, folks can find a “meet-up” group in their area for participating in meetings and functions.
link
Comment Texas Goat Gal — September 23, 2007 @ 12:50 pm
They used to do this with citrus trees in South Florida when a tree affected with citrus canker was found. They would kill citrus trees in a huge radius around it. Somebody successfully challenged this in recent history and they are no longer allowed to do this.
Comment Yvonne Taylor — September 23, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
How can we fight this like they did in florida? Any details or article links to it?
Comment Georgie B. — September 23, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
In England the oversight is called DEFRA which stands for Department for Eradication of Farms and Rural Animals. They are all about big business and killing off the small farm holder. Farms need DEFRA like we need another hole in the head. You think the USDA is bad? DEFRA is worse. Much worst.
Comment lane — September 23, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
This is what I fear most about the government and nais. They will just come in and kill our livestock without reason. Then later they say oops we made a mistake, or they dont, and they “compensate” us with auction ‘market’ prices of $100 each for our valuable breeding stock. It is theft. Our constitution is supposed to protect us from the government but it doesnt. It is time to revolt again and put down this government before they finish enslaving us all.
Comment Diane — September 23, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
It is infuriating the government would kill off animals for FMD, as it is survivable. I marvel that the USDA thinks it can kill off the “susceptible”wildlife in a 10 kilometer zone. Wildlife tends to wander, and wolves and coyotes can carry diseases. Flying insects transmit many diseases such as Bluetoungue, so what is the government going to do, Napalm the kill zone? Check to see what your state pays for killing your stock. Mine pays $300.00 for a registered cow and $100.00 for a grade cow, according to the information I found on the state ag website.
Comment eileen — September 23, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
USDA is Uncle Sam Destroying Agriculture. Same dang thing. It’s a global deal. Before long we will see HMD (they have hooves, not feet…:) here. When we do, we’re in for it big time. I hope the ‘perception is reality’ mindset of USDA does not prevail. reality is more akin to gravity than perception. All we need is the report of HMD or FMD and we’re going to see England in ‘01 on a huge scale.
Comment Doreen — September 23, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
Typical government bureaucratic over reaction to a sneeze. And they’re the ones sneezing. I wish they would get it right and vaccinate. That is the solution. They have the vaccines.
Comment Betty M. — September 24, 2007 @ 10:59 am
Sometimes I hate the way the internet suddenly reveals information when one wasn’t looking for it. In my disgust I cannot remember how I’ve come upon this new info about the UK FMD killings, but here it is anyway. A site called warmwell.com is “as the most reliable clearing-house for expert information on the FMD crisis,” run by an ex-pat living in Bordeaux.
Ok, here is what has me fuming:
“September 27 ~ Blood tests from all 20 of the lambs with lesions have been taken. DEFRA had said results would be back late yesterday, however they are now expected this morning.
(This posting at 2.00 pm ) We read that Farmers Weekly has been talking to the Berkshire farmer at the centre of the new temporary control zone. On Tuesday he found symptoms of orf. (Regular warmwell readers will remember with pain the number of sheep and their contiguous neighbours who were killed in 2001 because vets mistook orf [foot rot]for FMD)
Mistook foot rot for FMD?
Read the rest of it
here
but be prepared to be pissed off.
And here
is FOREIGN VETS COULDN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FMD, ORF AND FOOT ROT from January 21, 2002. A tidbit to help you click through the link:
“He found animals with blisters in their mouths, could not get a second opinion quickly enough, and Defra ordered an immediate slaughter. “The farmer had been spreading lime on the fields and that had caused the blisters in the animals’ mouths,” she said.”
Comment Henwhisperer — September 27, 2007 @ 11:24 am
Lest we forget–many of the deaths in 2001 had nothing to do with FMD, or any disease. Rather, because of livestock movement restrictions and the time of year during the outbreaks, many animals had to be kept where they were. They could not be moved to the neighboring field, nor could feed be brought in. A majority of animals had to be put down for welfare reasons because they were starving to death, trapped in a farmyard, or over-grazed field.
As we head into winter in these uncertain times we would all do well to think of where our livestock are and where their next meal is coming from, and how long that condition can last if they are at or away from homebase.
Comment Podchef — September 27, 2007 @ 1:02 pm