Government lab blamed for FMD
11/03/2008
An independent review of last year’s foot-and-mouth outbreak has criticised the laboratory at the source of the disease saying it as “shabby and dilapidated”.
The report’s author, Dr Iain Anderson, said the FMD virus should never have escaped the government-run Pirbright complex in Surrey.
He said poor regulation by the government was one of the reasons the disease had been allowed to spread.
Thousands of head of cattle were destroyed costing farmers millions as quarantine zones were set up and meat exports banned. Some country’s even banned the import of hides from the UK, even though tanning processes mean there is no possibility of spreading FMD through transporting tanned hides.
Dr Anderson described the scientific research at Pirbright as “first class”, but said there were problems with funding and management at the complex.
Farmers’ groups have welcomed the report but say they are disappointed that it does not criticise the amount of government compensation on offer to help farmers recover their losses.
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