Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the president of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to enquire into foot-and-mouth disease.

  • Great Britain. Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. Foot-and-Mouth Disease Committee.
Date:
1912
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the president of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to enquire into foot-and-mouth disease. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    33/370 (page 9)
    MINUTES 25 January 1912. ] [ Continued. of its immediate enforcement: (a) local authorities of the district affected by the Order; (b) chief constables and superintendents of police of such district; (c) rail- way companies having lines in such district ; and (d) the Board’s inspectors themselves. An Order is also forth- with made by the Board declaring the premises to be a foot-and-mouth disease infected place under Section 12 (a) of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894, and also to prevent the withdrawal of the restrictions from the infected place by the local authority without the con- currence of the Board. 82. When the report is confirmed, information is sent to the foreign countries, I suppose ?—Yes, sir. Where the case is an initial outbreak, that is to say, when we get foot-and-mouth disease in the country after a considerable period of freedom, we also take this further step of informing every local authority in Great Britain by telegram of the outbreak, and asking them to warn stockowners and others concerned in their district to be on the alert for any suspicious symptoms of illness amongst stock, and to report such symptoms to the police promptly. The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland are also informed by telegram of any such outbreak, in order that they may be in a position to take any measures which they may consider necessary. In the case of an initial outbreak, and also at various intervals afterwards, a notice is issued by the Board giving particulars as to the case or progress of the operations undertaken to the principal newspapers, High Commis- sioners for the Colonies, Foreign Embassies, Legations and Consulates, and to various agricultural societies, so that, far from there being any wish or desire or attempt to conceal the fact that a disease has occurred we publish the information promptly and we acquaint foreign countries. I may say that one hopes by that means to get other countries to have complete faith in any statement we make with regard to there being no disease in the country which, of course, is important from the point of view of the question of the exporta- tion of stock. 83. Then, when you modify your regulations, what general principles do you work upon P—The procedure adopted as to the modification of the restrictions im- posed by the Prohibition Order is always identical in principle, although, of course, variations are made to suit the particular circumstances attending any out- ‘break. The successive modifications usually made at intervals varying from three to ten days are on the following lines: (a) The scheduled district is sub- divided into three areas or zones, in each of which separate restrictions take effect. In the first or inner- most zone, comprising the immediate neighbourhood surrounding the infected premises, all movement re- mains entirely prohibited. In the second zone, com- prising an area of about eight miles radius around the infected premises, movement is allowed by licence for slaughter of animals from outside the scheduled district, or from the third zone. In the third, or outer zone, movement is allowed by licence for slaughter of animals either within the zone or from outside the scheduled district. The movement of animals out of each zone remains prohibited. You see the restric- tions—you may take it as a picture—are applied like the rings of a target, there is the bull’s-eye, which is the most dangerous, the inner, and then the magpie, as rifle-shooting people would call it, and the outer ring, and we gradually ease off the restrictions from outside inwards so as not to keep the prohibition on longer than is necessary, and at the same time to guard against any possible risk of the disease being somewhere in the district undetected. Of course, it must be borne in mind that when an outbreak occurs people are apt to assume that the outbreak that has been discovered is really the original outbreak. It does not at all follow. It may be that several people ‘have the disease on their farms, and that nowhere it has become sufficiently prominent for the owner to notice it, or it may be that one man has more insight and notices more quickly, so that we throw a wide net of restrictions over a district and keep these restrictions in force in order to help us in discovering any further disease centre. The moment a man can- not move his stock, or can only move them by licence, and has to apply for a licence, it immediately brings to his mind the question of there being anything the matter. In the recent outbreaks we have been ex- tremely fortunate in every case. I believe we have found the disease at the original centre, but we must not assume that that will always happen. At any moment it might happen that the disease had existed in the district for several days, or even weeks, un- known, especially in remote districts, so that it is a gradually ease off your restrictions from the outside inwards. (b) Movement into or within the second zone of animals for slaughter is allowed by licence —that is a further modification—and the movement of animals within the third or outer zone is allowed by licence for any specified purpose, including move- ments between different parts of the farm for feed- ing purposes. (c) Then, as a further modification, the movement within the second zone is allowed by licence for any specified purpose, and free move- ment is allowed within that zone; free movement within the third or outer zone is permitted, but no movement is allowed out. In the third zone markets of fat stock are allowed by special authority of the local authority, who are required to cause a veterinary examination of the animals exposed at the market. Then there is a further modification: (d) The scheduled district is contracted by freeing the outer zone from all restrictions and the subdivision of the remaining area into three smaller zones, in each of which the different restrictions above described take effect. Hntire prohibition of movements continues to be maintained in the immediate vicinity of the infected place, but only within about a mile thereof. Then, finally: (e) Restrictions are entirely withdrawn by the Board when they are satisfied that no further risk of the spread of the disease exists. This period varies from about five to ten weeks from the confirmation of the outbreak. I may mention that in certain cases it is necessary to make special orders, applying to the immediate vicinity of the infected place, relating to the movement of persons and dogs, and in one case in Somersetshire, poultry. That is done when there is anything like rights of way through the original farm. I remember that in a big outbreak at Sittingbourne in 1892, where I was for practical purposes the inspector in charge, the disease occurred in a private park across which there were no fewer than three paths— public rights of way—so that there were six direc- tions in which disease could spread. In those days we had not worked up our organisation to what it is now, and we had not any Order of that kind. We made that Order for the first time in that case because the disease went along every one of these six paths. Now when we get a position of that kind we pass an Order at once which enables the police to prevent people making use of the public right of way without disinfecting themselves where they leave the field. I may add, perhaps, that particulars of any Order re- stricting the movement of animals in connetion with any outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease are sent to every local: authority in Great Britain, and to the railway companies for their information. That, I think, completes the description of the procedure. 84, Procedure at the scene of the outbreak I suppose we shall get from Sir Edward Clarke and other inspectors, shall we >—I think you would get it perhaps more conveniently from them, because they have been through it now a great number of times in this par- ticular year, and it would be more satisfactory to take their evidence. Of course, the general procedure is, the inspector goes down and takes charge, makes im- mediately preliminary arrangements for the burial or cremation of any animals that may require to be slaughtered awaiting the instructions of the Board. In any initial outbreak he knows now that slaughter will probably be resorted to, and he generally has his arrangements for slaughter or cremation ready before the order for slaughter comes out. Of course, one wants to guard oneself against the supposition that slaughter is or should always be resorted to in every outbreak, because if one became aware that disease had