Trust Accused Over Disease Signs
UK - A farmer has accused the National Trust of removing warning signs and disinfectant baths after the recent foot-and-mouth outbreak.
17 August 2007
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| The National Trust said a sign illegally blocking a path was removed |
Chairman of Surrey Agricultural Society Andy Marshall said those who farmed Trust land took immediate action to prevent the spread of the disease.
He said the farmers who were outside the surveillance zone put signs and disinfectant baths on public footpaths.
The Trust said a sign blocking a path was removed but no baths were touched.
The National Trust, which lets land to tenant farmers, said the warning sign was outside the surveillance zone where it was illegal to close a footpath.
It added that its staff in and around the control area helped tenants take biosecurity measures on Trust land immediately following the outbreak.
Mr Marshall's dairy farm is about three miles (4.8km) from the original outbreak.
Foot-and-mouth was confirmed in a herd of cattle at Woolford Farm in Surrey on 3 August. A second case, at a farm nearby, was confirmed on 7 August.
Tests on a third suspected case within the surveillance zone, where cattle were culled, proved negative, as did those on a fourth possible case outside the zone also in Surrey.
