Floods May Have Carried Foot and Mouth Disease to Farm
The farmer at the centre of the first foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey has spoken of his shock at discovering his cattle were infected with the disease.
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Farmer Roger PrideRoger Pride, who runs Woolford’s farm with his wife Valerie, said they were victims of circumstances beyond their control.
In a statement read at a news 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.
“It felt as if our whole world was turned upside-down.”
He also said he believed floods may have carried the disease to his farm, because water from an overflowing sewer had spread across his fields.
Earlier, it was confirmed that a second outbreak of foot and mouth had been found on another farm, inside the three kilometre exclusion zone.
The cattle there had already been destroyed because of fears that they had the disease.
The NFU is now in discussions with Defra about shutting all footpaths and rights of way in the area to prevent further contamination.