What is foot-and-mouth disease and what happens if it enters Australia?
Written by Gabrielle Chan from the Guardian
FMD could force animal slaughters, cripple livestock industries and cost the country $80bn. Here’s what you need to know
In 2001, the UK was transfixed by grim daily news as government authorities tried to shut down an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Piles of destroyed cattle, representing hundreds of years of breeding in some cases, were set alight in fields across the nation, while villages were locked down and regional economies crippled as districts tried to halt the disease’s spread.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.
Written by Gabrielle Chan from the Guardian
FMD could force animal slaughters, cripple livestock industries and cost the country $80bn. Here’s what you need to know
- Full Story podcast: Foot and mouth: the livestock virus brewing at Australia’s borders
- Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
- Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community
In 2001, the UK was transfixed by grim daily news as government authorities tried to shut down an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Piles of destroyed cattle, representing hundreds of years of breeding in some cases, were set alight in fields across the nation, while villages were locked down and regional economies crippled as districts tried to halt the disease’s spread.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.