TOMORROW'S Appleby Show has been cancelled following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Surrey.

Six years after the disease devastated the farming industry, all movement of cattle, sheep and pigs has been halted in a bid to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and the organisers of the agricultural show decided last Saturday (August 4) to cancel the event.

Appleby and next Tuesday's Lunesdale Show at Kirkby Lonsdale are the latest shows to be hit by the outbreak. Cockermouth Show on Saturday was cancelled at an estimated cost of £20,000, although the Dumfries and Lockerbie agricultural shows went ahead without livestock exhibits.

Cumbria's show season had already been severely affected by bad weather. Both the Penrith and Gilsland shows were cancelled on health and safety grounds because rain had made the show grounds too boggy and dangerous for the public.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ban on the movement of animals, except under licence, means Cumbria's auction marts will have to cancel all sales until the livestock movement ban is lifted.

The last recorded outbreak of foot-and-mouth in Cumbria was at Whygill Head Farm, near Little Asby, Appleby, in 2001. The county suffered the highest number of cases in 2001, with more than 800 farms affected. Six months into the epidemic 3,750,222 animals had been culled and tourism chiefs put the figure lost by local trade at £250 million.

Les Armstrong, who farms at Kirkoswald near Penrith, was at the forefront of the battle to contain the last outbreak in 2001 as the then chairman of the NFU's headquarters livestock committee.

Mr Armstrong, whose own herd was culled in the 2001 outbreak said: "We always said that sooner or later it would come again. We live in a world where there is a lot of animal movement. I would certainly not like to see them rush in and use vaccine.

"The last outbreak was history and we have moved on in farming circles. The only question on our minds was that if it came back, have the lessons been learned?"

MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said: "The Government has got to do everything in its power to prevent foot-and-mouth from spreading across the country. Foot-and-mouth devastated the rural economy and tourism here in Cumbria in 2001 and both are yet to fully recover.

"The reaction has been much faster this time than in 2001, and the immediate ban on livestock movement will, hopefully, have its desired effect. However, we must also recognise that the ban will start to impact financially on farmers if it has to remain in place for any length of time.

"Overall, the Government needs to make sure that its response is proportionate, but we need to consider the vaccination option if there is a threat of this turning into an epidemic.

"We wait to see what the next few days bring, but I hope and pray that this outbreak is isolated to the farm in Surrey."

Farmers or rural workers wishing to express their views or share their anxieties about the new foot-and-mouth outbreak can post their comments on our newspaper's website: www.the westmorland gazette.co.uk News - foot-and-mouth and forums.