A very sad day for this lovely parish

It breaks my heart to write this blog. My little corner of rural England is being devastated by the blight that is foot and mouth. So far a couple of hundred local cattle has been destroyed one of which was John Gunners famous Charolais and Sussex herds. He was crying on TV and who can blame him - he's not only lost years of specialised and careful breeding but also lost his prize bull - I cant even begin to imagine how much that must hurt. The fields around me are now empty, a silent scream for this incredibly sad time for Worplesdon.

I just pray that Lukes Irish Moiled calf who is little more than a month old and was his pride and joy at the local show last month survives this appalling tragedy.



this calf is just ten days old but now faces an uncertain future thanks to foot and mouth

Tears of second farmer to lose herd

A Surrey cattle farmer wept as he told how his herd was struck down by foot and mouth.

John Gunner, 60, the second farmer to fall victim, said his herd, numbering more than 100 Charolais and Sussex cows, had all been culled after one group of them exhibited signs of the disease.

"It has just wiped us out," said Mr Gunner, speaking at his home in Wood Street village, near Guildford. "It is our only income. I'm just devastated. I will try and recover but it will be difficult."

Mr Gunner and his wife Joy, tenant farmers who rent 300 acres locally, kept their cattle in three locations near their home.

Forty-eight of the cattle, kept at Willey Green, began exhibiting signs of foot and mouth on Monday, having been given the all-clear the day before.

This herd was in land adjacent to the first herd to be infected.

Defra was called and veterinary experts advised the slaughter of these animals and, as a precaution despite the others not apparently being infected, two of Mr Gunner's other herds, kept at nearby Russell Place and Hook Farm.

Meanwhile, the farmer at the centre of the foot-and-mouth outbreak has said his family are "devastated".

Roger Pride, who runs Woolford's farm near Godalming in Surrey with his wife Valerie, said they were victims of circumstances beyond their control.

In a statement read at a press conference by Anthony Gibson from the National Farmers' Union, Mr Pride described the moment when it was confirmed his animals were infected. He said: "For a moment we couldn't believe it. We were completely shocked and devastated. If felt as if our whole world was turned upside-down.

This was taken from MSN news today. I have never seen Wood Street Village in the news before - and I hope I never see it again......

,,,and this was in the Times

The family also took it upon themselves to block off all the footpaths, seal off the farm and put down disinfectant. He added: “We did everything we could. We phoned up and spoke to someone at Defra and they came on Sunday and gave the cattle the all-clear. They gave them a thorough examination and I thought everything was going to be OK.”

Mr Gunner said that he checked the cattle again on Monday morning on all three of his sites and all seemed fine but by lunchtime he sensed that something was not quite right.

He said: “One was limping and another was dribbling at the mouth. We got back in touch with the veterinary people and they returned.

“By this point my old bull, Ned, wasn’t very well. He had great pedigree and was so gentle I could put my arms around him. In the short time I was there he collapsed in front of my eyes. It was just so fast.”

Mr Gunner said he had no idea how the infection could have got on to his land because the cows had not been moved for seven months. However, he did reveal that the stream running through the Prides’ grazing field also ran through his land.

Mr Gunner said that the Defra vet asked him if he would be prepared to cull his herd before foot-and-mouth had been confirmed and he told them, “You have got to do your job.” He said: “It was a foregone conclusion – it would have been unfair to keep them alive.”

When asked what he would feel if the disease was found to have leaked from the laboratory site at Pirbright, Mr Gunner said: “I would feel annoyed that people who are dealing with such dangerous diseases are so irresponsible. I know that it is a necessity but there should be strict controls and it should not have been allowed to get out.”

Mr Gunner said his son Stephen, 30, had quit the Army where he had been fighting in Iraq to help at his father’s farm with a view to taking it over when he retired. He did not know if there would be a farm left to run.