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Home > Countryside News - Foot and Mouth
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Foot and Mouth Outbreak
No Legal Action to be Taken Against Pirbright Laboratories
| 11 June 2008 - In a disappointing turn of events, Surrey County Council has revealed that it is unable to take legal action against either of the Pirbright laboratories suspected of releasing the foot and mouth virus into the Surrey countryside last year.
The council has expressed its anger that no-one is to be held accountable for the outbreak that infected two Surrey farms and resulted in the slaughter of their sheep. It also had wide ranging impacts on countryside access and animal movements.
The council's legal advisors feel that a prosecution would have little chance of success as the Institute of Animal Health and Merial laboratories share the single drainage system that had carried the leaked animal disease. Three government-commissioned reports all failed to identify the source of the outbreak before it reached the shared facilities.
Peter Denard, Surrey County Council's Trading Standards Manager, said: "Because the two laboratories share the same facilities on the site, it hasn't been possible to pinpoint who was responsible for the outbreak. The Government needs to make sure in these circumstances one laboratory is held accountable, and that is what we're calling for now.
"In addition, we believe individual directors of the facilities should be held accountable and the maximum fine should be significantly increased to reflect the seriousness of the offence."
Nick Skellett, Leader of Surrey County Council, said: "The foot and mouth outbreak had a disastrous impact on the rural economy last year as well as having a massive effect on the local and national economy and we must make sure we never allow this situation to happen again.
"Because we know all too well the enormity of the impact of the outbreak of the disease, if we had been in a position to take legal action, we would have done so."
Now the council is demanding government action to make one laboratory accountable in these circumstances and is also calling for individual directors to be held responsible.
In the council's press release it identified three stronger measures it would like to see:
1. It is vital that where two (or more) such laboratories share the same facilities that one should have the ultimate accountability for the safety and security of the whole site;
2. Tougher fines should be introdued for a breach of the legislation. Current rules allow for a fine of up to £5,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment and this level of fine is totally inadequate when put against the cost to the nation of such an offence;
3. This is such an important issue that individual directors should also be held accountable in appropriate cases.
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Article and Updates Published at the Time of the 2007 Outbreaks
Last Updated 4 October 2007
| The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (defra) website is being regularly updated with developments on all aspects of the current outbreak of Foot and Mouth in Surrey. For the benefit of our pub walking community, we are including here a summary of the latest news specifically on countryside access and footpath closures as these are announced.
A map showing the affected areas can be found on the Foot and Mouth website.
Defra has put in place 3km Protection Zones and 10km Surveillance Zones around each of the infected premises. These overlap to create a singular irregular shaped area for each type of zone. Within the Surveillance Zone we are simply told that dogs must be kept on a lead. The restrictions are much tighter within the Protection Zone, where Defra asks us:
• not to use footpaths or rights of way marked as closed
• not to stray from the right of way onto grazing land
• to avoid walking amongst livestock
• not to touch or handle livestock
• to keep dogs on a lead and avoid any contact with livestock nearby
• to take any waste, including food, home
• to use any disinfectant footpads or baths which the landowner provides
• not to take or ride horses in or out of the Protection Zone
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Reports from the September 2007 Outbreak
4 October 2007 - Surrey County Council have developed in interactive map in conjunction with neighbouring local authorities that clearly shows the footpath closures in the Protection Zone. On the map: the yellow crosses depict footpath closure notices; the red lines and red areas represent closed paths and larger closed areas. Click on interactive footpath map to view this. Some footpaths and areas remain closed in the Protection Zone where they are considered a risk. Review the map and follow local signing.
24 September 2007 - A further change has been made extent of the Protection Zone. Please check the Defra map for details.Footpaths and bridleways remain closed in the revised Protection Zone where they are considered a risk. Local signing needs to be followed.
21 September 2007 - Changes have again been made to the Protection Zone following confirmation of the disease on a fourth farm within the existing Protection Zone. This makes six farms infected in total since 3 August - see the Defra map.Some footpaths and bridleways remain closed in the revised Protection Zone where they are considered a risk. Local signing needs to be followed.
18 September 2007 - A third farm within the existing Protection Zone has been confirmed as infected after precautionary culling last night, causing minor changes to the zone which can be best seen as usual on the Defra map.Footpaths and bridleways remain closed in the revised Protection Zone.
15 September 2007 - The Protection Zone has been amended again and this can be seen on the Defra map.Footpaths and bridleways remain closed in this Protection Zone.
14 September 2007 - A second farm has become infected next door to the first in this latest outbreak. The Protection Zone has been extended accordingly and this can be seen on the Defra map.Footpaths and bridleways remain closed in the newly extended Protection Zone.
12 September 2007 - A second outbreak of the disease in Surrey has resulted in a new Protection Zone being created that stretches broadly from Egham south to Woking and extending east to includes parts of Weybridge. This is best viewed on the map on the foot and mouth website.Footpaths and bridleways in the Protection Zone are now closed.
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Reports from the August 2007 Outbreak
24 August 2007 - Restrictions on the Protection Zones have been lifted. Only paths crossing infected premises are now closed and these are well-marked.
22 August 2007 - No changes to access restrictions reported. To be clear, Surrey County Council has discretion to close any footpaths, bridleways or land in the two protection zones. Defra has asked the County Council to use this discretion and target paths crossing land where livestock is present. As a result, walkers within the protection zones need to expect selected routes to be closed in addition to those crossing infected premises.
16 August 2007 - No changes to access restrictions reported.
10 August 2007 - No changes to access restrictions reported.
9 August 2007 - The size of the larger Protection Zone has been extended towards Guildford, similarly increasing the area where footpaths and bridleways are closed (larger area outlined in blue on the defra map).
Surrey County Council have also sought powers to close public access to the smaller Protection Zone around the second site and these powers have been granted. It is not clear to what extent this has yet been implemented but the assumption must be that this is imminent (smaller area outlined in blue on the defra map).
8 August 2007 - Culling ordered on suspician of the disease on a farm adjacent to the second infected site. No new access restrictions.
For full details click on Defra Press Release.
7 August 2007 - Infection confirmed on a second Surrey farm within the first Protection Zone (the larger main one on the defra map).
As a result, footpaths and bridleways have now been closed in the first Protection Zone which includes the first farm and the Pirbright site (if you are planning to walk in the area, please view the defra map).
For full details click on Defra Press Release.
6 August 2007 - Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds confirmed countryside and footpaths remain open.
For full details click on Defra Press Release.
5 August 2007 - Culling included animals on a separate area owned by the same infected farm and a second 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone have been established around the area, centred approximately 3km west of Milford, Surrey. No new footpath or bridleway restrictions.
For full details click on Defra Press Release
4 August 2007 - Protection and Surveillance Zones extended to encompass the Pirbright laboratories. Footpath and bridleway restrictions remain limited to those on the infected farm itself.
For full details click on Defra Press Release
3 August 2007 - Diagnosis of Foot and Mouth disease confirmed at a farm in Surrey and a Protection Zone with 3km radius from the farm has been established, together with a wider 10km radius Surveillance Zone. The zones are centred on grid reference SU 938518. Only footpaths and bridleways on the infected premises itself are closed at this stage.
For full details click on Defra Press Release
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