Farming Today - 20/02/2026 The 2001 Foot and Mouth Outbreak 25 years on
Download 20/02/2026 The 2001 Foot and Mouth Outbreak 25 years on
Charlotte Smith is in Devon to reflect on the impact of the 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis 25 years on. Highly contagious foot and mouth disease was confirmed at an Essex abattoir on 19th February 2001. The outbreak which followed led to the slaughter of 6.5 million cattle, sheep, and pigs and cost the UK economy an estimated £8 billion. The emotional cost to farming families was incalculable. Charlotte speaks to the then South West Regional Director of the National Farmers Union, Anthony Gibson, who recalls the 'cataclysm' which hit the farming community. Farming Today's Caz Graham remembers the smell of burning pyres and disinfectant on the air in Cumbria, the worst hit county. She hosted a nightly phone in on BBC Radio Cumbria during the crisis, where callers would share their grief and anger. Charlotte visits Phil Heard's farm on Dartmoor, which got caught up in the controversial 'contiguous cull' policy, in which farms neighbouring confirmed outbreaks of Foot and Mouth would also have their animals compulsorily slaughtered.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sarah Swadling
Published on Friday, 20th February 2026.
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