Archived News

9th August 2007- Thursday
Not a good start to the day.  Some of the calves are looking a bit poorly so we have called the vet and just waiting for him to arrive. In the meantime I have been dousing the straw and carpet with disinfectant, however when I went to the one by the road I couldn't find the lovely old milk churns I'd been using to carry the water in.  It seems that some unscrupulous person has stolen them.

About 9am - Each calf was examined by two vets and a record of any symptons was noted against each animal's tag number. On the basis of these examinations it was decided to make a precautionary call to DEFRA who sent their own vet out to check the calves. From the moment our vet called DEFRA, no one was allowed to leave the farm until further notice.

12.15pm and the DEFRA vet has arrived.

We are served with a 'Restriction Notice - Suspicion of Disease' this formality is followed on every farm before an inspection can proceed.

There were all kinds of forms to complete and questions asked such as; when did the calves arrive on farm and from where and do we have any connection with Normandy?

The DEFRA vet then inspected a number of animals.  After a couple of hours he made a call to London to report his findings.  A decision was made to take blood samples and swabs from a small number of calves as a precautionary measure only; these have been sent to the Pirbright Laboratory.

We must wait at least 24 hours for any results.

Licences had to then be completed to allow people to leave the farm.

The staff who had been stranded within the farm yard all day, could finally go home at 6.30 after disinfecting vehicles and footwear.  They had strict instructions to go straight home to shower and wash their clothes at 60 degrees.  The two local vets are not allowed near any livestock for 72 hours.

DEFRA have erected a new sign on the farm gate prohibiting any access apart from a couple of licenced people. Now we must wait. Back