UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Media release
British farming - the future?

The future of British farming is the subject of a free public lecture at Bristol University by the President of the National Farmers' Union.

The lecture, called 'What future for British farming post-foot and mouth disease', will be given by Ben Gill, CBE, at 5.15 pm on Monday, May 20 in Lecture Theatre 1, School of Veterinary Science, Southwell Street, Bristol.

One year ago on February 20, Government vets confirmed the first major outbreak of foot and mouth in the UK for more than 30 years. This proved to be the world's single biggest foot and mouth epidemic and the most serious animal disease epidemic in the UK in modern times.

All the signs are that this catastrophic outbreak has now been beaten. The last case of the disease was on September 30 and every county is now classified as free of it. The international animal health organisation has reinstated the UK on the list of countries world-wide that are clear of the disease and, on February 5, the European Commission also lifted all export restrictions.

Despite these breakthroughs, British farmers are still living with a series of restrictions caused by the disease. Mr Gill will discuss what the future holds for British farmers post-foot and mouth.

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Email: public-relations@bristol.ac.uk
Copyright: 2001 The University of Bristol, UK
Updated: Thursday, 16-May-2002 17:40:29 BST