Death on the farm

摘要

The 2001 epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Britain will long be remembered by the farming community. But why? Because of the terrible suffering and high death rate of animals unfortunate enough to be infected? Or is it little to dp with the disease itself and more to do with the reaction to it? In this excellent book, Abigail Woods presents a compelling case that during FMD epidemics in Britain over the past century or so, it was the action taken by the agencies charged with controlling the disease that caused suffering in the farming community, rather than FMD itself. The disease is not, Woods argues, as fearsome as it is widely perceived to be. Foot-and-mouth disease is not a 'natural plague' of animals like, for example, rinderpest, which can spread rapidly and has, in the past, killed millions during pandemics. Rather, it is a manufactured plague—the suffering associated with it is largely of our own making.