The culling fields

Citation

Woodcock, S. (2001), "The culling fields", European Business Review, Vol. 13 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2001.05413eab.004

The culling fields

The culling fields

Sue Woodcock

Keywords: Farming, Consumer behaviour, Community relations

I live in Settle, North Yorkshire, and keep Rare Breed sheep seven miles outside Settle. My sheep are organic, and on the same small holding are organic pigs, cows and chickens. The meat and eggs produced are good quality, and are sold locally. I care about the animals on the farm, which is very small scale. Farming has not been easy for anyone over the past few years, and the Foot and Mouth epidemic has hit us very hard. We believed, until recently, that we had escaped it, and even now, our stock shows no signs of the disease. All around, stock is being culled, and people's lives are being devastated. Not just the farmers, everyone is suffering. Small businesses are going under, and there is a general air of desperation. The hurtful thing is that there is nothing we can do about it. Knowing that you may be the next one to have your life destroyed has the effect of gnawing at your very soul. The sense of desperation is not helped by hordes of press and photographers, whose only purpose for being there is to get a good story.

I believe in the culling policy, and as I watch the lorries going in and out of Settle, I am saddened and distressed. What does annoy me is the way people criticise everyone, and everything, even when they either do not understand the situation, or can make no better suggestions. Yes, there are considerable delays in the way MAFF[l] work, but this is hardly surprising, given the volume of work they are expected to undertake. Our local vets have been brilliant, and are working long hours, helping the community they serve.

I am sure that Agriculture Minister Nick Brown is also doing his best, but the desire of some to criticise him, takes no account of the good work he, and everyone working for him, are doing. I suggest that any party, in these circumstances, would have made mistakes. It is very easy to blame the party in power for everything that goes wrong. To make political points out of the misery is inappropriate.

If do lose all my sheep, which is possible, and probable, I shall be devastated. My only consolation will be that I will be better off than many, and that I still have a life to continue. Yesterday, a number of sheep, and a pig, were taken for a welfare cull. The MAFF official, the driver of the lorry, and the vet were helpful, understanding and sympathetic.

Whatever the cause of this disaster, we could all be a little more understanding of the problems the slaughter men, the farmers and vets face. Many of them are staying away from home, in communities they are having to devastate, when they are doing an unpleasant job.

This should not be a political football, and after it is all over, which will not be for some time, the whole country should look to the causes, and learn from them. The consumer, when they buy their leg of lamb, or their minced beef, should think carefully about where it came from, and how it got there. Anyone who even considers animal welfare should know that most British meat is the best in the world. We comply with all the welfare rules, and our animals are happy, well cared for, and humanely slaughtered.

At the moment it does not matter whose fault it was, what does matter to people like me is that we learn from our mistakes, and if it returns, we can deal with it better.

Farming has changed, because life has changed. We want easy, standardised food, nicely wrapped, and bearing little resemblance to the animal it came from. The consumer, the supermarkets and the producers are all to blame. We should all look to our own part in changing our lifestyles. If more people asked more about their meat, or supported their local butchers, farm shop, or village or corner store, they would know what they were eating. I am not against supermarkets, but their growth, and increasing power in the meat market have changed our shopping habits. They are responding to public demands for different products, an example being the increase of organic lines. Next time you buy meat, ask where it comes from. Ask for local produce.

I (and many others like me), are doing everything we can to protect our stock. I will vote at the election, but it will be for a candidate that I think cares for the community.

The Foot and Mouth virus is not the only one affecting our lives. Society seems to have its own sickness. Convenience shopping is a symptom of the increasing insulation of the average shopper from the producer. Start curing this sickness by thinking about what you eat, drink or use. Explain to children that milk comes from cows, not bottles or containers. The wool in your carpet has come from a sheep. The farmer is paid pennies for this wool, which takes a year to grow. If the sheep is not healthy, the wool is of poor quality. I clip my own sheep, and spin and knit the wool, into warm, comfortable socks and sweaters. It is cheaper to buy acrylic substitutes, which are easier to wash. When you do this, the wool our country grew rich on through history, is being cast aside for an easier alternative.

We have a high standard of living. It is not, necessarily, a better one. We are all responsible for the society we have, the governments we elect, and the products we buy. We are the only ones who can change our lives for the better. Start by supporting your own community, and thinking what you, the consumer, can do to make all our lives better. Demand to know what you are buying, and every one of us could make a difference, not immediately, but in the long term, when our children may be the ones to benefit.

Note

1. 1.

   1 "MAFF" is the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. After the June 2001 election, it was replaced by a new ministry: DEFRA (the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).