Open Letter of Appeal to Mr D Maclean

My letter to below MP asking for a public enquiry into this whole affair.

Dear Mr Maclean,

Foot & Mouth Disease

I write to you not as one of your current constituents nor as a farmer, but

as someone who has witnessed the most appalling atrocities in this County's

History and feel that your sympathies might lie in this direction.

I have been through the sympathetic anguish and heartache as countless

farmers lost their livelihoods and as millions of healthy animals have been

needlessly slaughtered.

I now find that the tears have turned to anger and frustration and I would

like to see this Government and all the people who gave this Government such

barbaric advice brought to justice. If heads must roll, from the top

downwards, then so be it - because this Government has raped and pillaged

our Countryside in the most wanton and needless fashion.

There are answers to many aspects of this whole situation that need to be

addressed: namely :-

1. Why, when this Government knew we had foot and mouth in this Country in

January did it take so long for them to act, even to the point of ignoring

the early advice given to them to stop all sheep movements? Also will they

confirm where this outbreak really first originated, the date and how.

2. Why was an undemocratic Union's advice listened to when they do not

represent the vast majority of farmers in this Country, refusing a

vaccination policy in favour of a mass slaughtering regime when most

farmers had originally been in favour of a vaccination policy. At a time

when farmers needed good sound advice the NFU were busy protecting their own

interests and the interests of the large farmers not the small family

farmer, which this virus was affecting most.

3. Why was the Police Force actively supporting the perpetrators, MAFF, who

were committing illegal acts in contravention of British and European laws

on Animal Health and Human Rights by forcibly taking our animals? The Police

assisted these people by breaking into homes, blocking off roads, and

leaving us open to the violation that was being forced upon us. The fact

that this Government has never stood up and criticised them for their

approach speaks volumes. Even the Scottish Legal system failed to protect

the people who turned to it for justice - why?

4. For what reasons did the Government adopt the illegal mass slaughter

policy it in trying to bring foot and mouth under control, ignoring expert

opinion such as Professor Brown and why did it choose to listen solely to a

discredited epidemiologist (Anderson) with no veterinary experience of the

disease. Why did they not deviate from that path when proved to be wrong by

practical experience and expert opinion such as noted FMD experts Donaldson

et al, Pirbright?

5. After being told that there was a continually updated contingency plan

since the 1967 outbreak, which sadly looks as if it did not exist - what

forward planning will this Government implement to make sure that, if foot

and mouth should ever recur we will never have to witness such barbaric

measures being carried out in our Countryside again?

6. What part will farming play in the future rural development of the

Countryside and how will it effect the rural economy both in terms of work

and way of life.

I submit this to you in the hope that you can influence the setting up of a

independent far reaching public enquiry with the widest possible remit.

Can this Enquiry ensure that it's findings will not vindicate the people

responsible for causing so much needless pain and suffering to so many - and

give us the assurance that we as citizens of this Country will no longer be

persecuted for standing up for what we believe in - the basic right of every

Human Being - our HUMAN RIGHTS.

Mrs Coleen Taylor