1967 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak facts for kids
The 1967 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak was a serious event where many farm animals got sick. This disease, called foot and mouth disease, mainly affected animals in the area where Wales meets Shropshire. Other countries in Europe, like France, also had problems with the disease around this time.
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What Happened Before
Before 1967, there had been other outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom. The government had looked into these outbreaks in 1922, 1923-1924, and 1953. In the 1950s, there was a big outbreak across the country. In fact, in the 13 years before 1967, there were only two years when no outbreaks were reported. This shows that foot-and-mouth disease was common in Europe during that time.
The Outbreak Begins
In October 1967, a farmer at Bryn Farm near Oswestry in Shropshire noticed one of their pigs was sick. A vet checked the animal and found it had foot-and-mouth disease. Bryn Farm was immediately put under quarantine, meaning no animals could move in or out. This was to stop the disease from spreading.
However, the virus quickly moved to a nearby farm called Ellis Farm. Two cows from Ellis Farm had already been sent to market, which made the situation worse. In the next few months, over 2,364 outbreaks were found across the United Kingdom. Most of these, about 94%, happened in the North-West Midlands and North Wales.
Official Reports
The Minister for Agriculture, Frederick Peart, asked a group to study the outbreak. This group's report was called The Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Foot-and-Mouth Disease. It was published in two parts in 1969. People often called it the Northumberland Report. This was because its leader was the Duke of Northumberland. The report gave ideas on how to keep the disease out of the country. It also suggested plans for fighting foot-and-mouth disease if it did appear.
Another report, Origins of the 1967-8 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Epidemic, was published in 1968. It was written by John Reid, the Chief Veterinary Officer. This report shared important lessons learned from the outbreak.
After the Outbreak
After the 1967 outbreak, the United Kingdom changed its rules. It decided to control imports of animals or products from countries where foot-and-mouth disease was common. After these new rules, there was only one more outbreak until 2001. This happened in 1981 on the Isle of Wight.
Key Issues During the Outbreak
How the Disease Spread
One way the disease spread was through contaminated food. For example, a young farmer named John Bennett said that in Worcestershire, the disease started when a farmer fed skimmed milk to his pigs. This milk came from Shropshire, where the disease was very active.
Slaughtering Animals
To stop the disease from spreading, many animals had to be killed. Over six months, about 430,000 animals were slaughtered on 2,300 farms. On average, around 200 animals were killed for each farm where the disease was found. This was a very sad but necessary step to control the outbreak.
Humans Getting Sick
The 1967 crisis saw the last known case of a human getting foot-and-mouth disease. A farm worker was thought to have caught the virus from drinking contaminated milk. The disease was not dangerous for humans and the worker got better in a few weeks.
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