Foot and mouth farmers seeking compensasion
Farmers across the Surrey region are preparing for a high court case against the people they believe led to last year’s foot and mouth outbreak. A group of 14 farmers are making a claim for damages claiming that that the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) and Merial Animal Health Limited as operators of a facility at Pirbright were negligent in causing or permitting the virus to escape from the lab.
The case was originally going to be brought to the courts by lawyers operating on a no win no fee basis, but now the case has been taken over by the national farmers union who will pay for the legal costs.
David Sheldrake of Beaumont College farm commented on the situation “As a farm we were completely devastated by the virus,” he said.“It has deprived us of the income from the cattle we lost.
“All the hay and fodder we got was wasted and nobody in the area wanted to buy the fodder from us because our premises were infected. “All we are seeking to do is to put our farm back where it was 14 or 15 months ago.”Updated on 10/27/2008