51AV视频

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "The countryside should never be shut down again"

British agriculture was rocked to the core 25 years ago by the foot-and-mouth crisis. Have lessons been learnt at a time when the UK food supply chain is being compromised by illegal meat and cheap food imports?

Chris Brayford
clock 鈥� 2 min read
"If the UK's robust food supply chain is bargained away for cheap food imports and undermined by illegal meat, it is not only the countryside which suffers, but the whole of society."
Image:

"If the UK's robust food supply chain is bargained away for cheap food imports and undermined by illegal meat, it is not only the countryside which suffers, but the whole of society."

The 25th anniversary of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK brings back vivid memories of a truly heartbreaking time for the countryside. For many, the sight and smell of the open-air pyres, used...

To continue reading...

Already a member? Login for full access.

New to Farmers Guardian? Register for 1 free article per week or become a member for unlimited access to essential farming news and insights.

article-img-580x358
Join Now

听

More on 51AV视频Life

Calls for gun law rethink following farmer's death
51AV视频Life

Calls for gun law rethink following farmer's death

'Gaps' in legislation could lead to more people taking their own lives, warns coroner

Nick Irving
clock 19 February 2026 鈥� 2 min read
Direct selling boosts growth for Cambridgeshire mixed livestock farm
51AV视频Life

Direct selling boosts growth for Cambridgeshire mixed livestock farm

Bramblebee Farms has developed its wide range of livestock enterprises in response to customer demand

Wendy Short
clock 19 February 2026 鈥� 7 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "Infectious diseases do not respect borders or species barriers, and we ignore this at our peril"
51AV视频Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "Infectious diseases do not respect borders or species barriers, and we ignore this at our peril"

Before his career in politics, Epping Forest MP Dr Neil Hudson was a veterinary inspector who was on the frontline of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001. Dr Hudson remembers the once bustling farms which became empty, the impact it had on the sector's mental health, and why the current Government should never take the UK's national biosecurity for granted

Dr Neil Hudson
clock 18 February 2026 鈥� 3 min read