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19
February 2001
The
countryside's worst nightmare begins with a routine inspection at
Cheale Meats abattoir in Little Warley, south of Brentwood, Essex,
that finds "highly suspicious" signs of foot-and-mouth
disease in 27 pigs.
20 February
The
then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now the Department
of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) confirms the outbreak.
The abattoir
and two farms that supplied the suspect pigs have five-mile (eight-kilometre)
animal exclusion zones put round them.
Tests at a farm
next door to the abattoir, and owned by the same family, confirm
the presence of foot-and-mouth there too.
21 February
All
exports of live animals, meat and dairy products are banned by the
government. The European Commission bans exports of all live animals
and animal products from Britain.
Northern Ireland
follows suit with a ban on the import of animal and dairy products
from the UK.
22 February
A
cattle farm at Great Warley, near Brentwood in Essex, produces the
third case of foot-and-mouth.
People are urged
to avoid farmland to prevent the disease spreading further.
24 February
The
first mass slaughter, involving thousands of pigs and cattle, gets
underway on eight farms across England.
25 February
The
outbreak total reaches seven at a farm near Okehampton, Devon. The
farmer is thought to have exported to Europe.
The Countryside
Alliance announces it is postponing a protest march planned for
18 March in central London
2 March
The
first outbreaks in Northern Ireland and Scotland take the number
of cases to 40.
The army is
called in to help to organise the cull.
8 March
Chief
Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore warns the crisis will last a "long
time", as the number of outbreaks rises to 106.
3 April
Prime
Minister Tony Blair announces that the "feelings and sensitivities"
of people in affected areas mean local elections - and, it is assumed,
the general election - in England and planned for 3 May, must be
delayed.
14 April
Fears
over the organisation of the mass cull are raised after pictures
emerge of a white-clad marksman apparently shooting at sheep and
lambs in a Monmouthshire field.
24 April
The
human form of disease - which is not thought to be dangerous - is
suspected in a slaughterman who came into close contact with infected
animal material. It later proves a false alarm.
7 June
The
general and local elections go ahead, but foot-and-mouth is far
from beaten.
10 August
Calls
for a full-scale public inquiry into the handling of the outbreak
are ignored by ministers as three separate inquiries are announced.
19 August
The
epidemic reaches the six-month mark with 3,750,222 animals slaughtered.
The tourist
trade says local businesses have lost trade estimated at £250m.
3 September
The
number of confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth in the UK reaches 2,000.
30 September
What
becomes the last recorded case of the outbreak is found in animals
in a field north of Little Asby, Appleby, Cumbria.
14 January
2002
With
no outbreak for three months and negative tests on sheep flocks
in Northumberland, the county were foot-and-mouth was initially
traced, Britain declares itself free of foot-and-mouth from midnight.
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