As the country begins to recover from

the foot-and-mouth epidemic, reporter SARAH WARDEN found out how animal sanctuary Foal Farm was affected ...

W ith the anniversary of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last week, some of the effects are still being felt throughout the countryside, even at the animal sanctuary in Biggin Hill which was forced to close down for 11 weeks at the height of the epidemic.

Foal Farm lost an estimated £30,000 during the closure from February to May, as visitors and volunteers alike were turned away to protect the resident sheep, goats, cows, pigs, and hedgehogs, which can also contract the disease.

Three hedgehogs who were cared for last winter had to remain at the sanctuary throughout the summer due to the disease, and were only released into the wild at the end of autumn.

Even after the sanctuary re-opened in May, all visitors were still asked to use disinfectant until the outbreak was officially declared over on December 1.

Now a programme to provide double fencing around the pens of animals most at risk, such as sheep and cows, has begun.

The farm's trustees applied for compensation from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), but have had no response.

Fortunately, animals were never at risk due to financial problems as the farm always keeps two years running costs in the bank for use in this type of crisis situation.

General manager Sarah Hollingsworth said: "The foot-and-mouth crisis was a terrible time and I think it will have lasting effects all over.

"I think farming methods which encourage the spread of disease, such as concentrated feeds, need to be looked at carefully. For us at Foal Farm it was a very difficult time. Whereas farmers have herds of animals identified by number, we treat all our animals as individuals, and feel a moral and emotional attachment to them.

"We continue to take the most up-to-date advice about prevention, and we are gradually installing double fencing near the animals most at risk. We will keep reviewing our policy according to DEFRA guidelines."

WORST OUTBREAK OF THIS DISEASE

Foot-and-mouth disease hit rural communities all over Britain. Here are some of the horrifying facts:

l There was a total number of 2,030 cases but the total number of animals slaughtered to halt the spread of the disease was more than four million between February 2001 and February this year.

l It took two weeks for the disease to spread throughout the country

l The epidemic turned out to be the Britain's biggest foot-and-mouth outbreak.

l Britain spent its first day officially free of foot-and-mouth on January 15, 2002 11 months after the disease first crippled the countryside.