Farmers Talk of Rebellion against MAFF-ia ... Blair "Steps up the Slaughter"
Corvus | 16.03.2001 15:50
The crisis in agriculture is deepening by the day; in parliament Blair calls for the 'cull' [ie kill] of animals to be extended to healthy stock. The NFU [Farmers Union] has split between rich and poor members with the Cumbrian contingent openly calling for defiance of the Ministry. Still no decision on the election.
For those who have been puzzling in the last few days why the army was being primed for action in this F&M nightmare the answer may, like the disease itself, be blowing in the wind. Only the most die-hard Labourite or SWP supporter can fail to see that this is now growing into the proportions of the dust-bowls of the 1930s in the mid-west USA. [Odd that Channel 4 broadcast the film of Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" yesterday]. Like any crisis of agriculture, the root is political, and Blair's Labour party is now full tilt into its plan to undermine the agricultural sector as an independent class, to reduce it to a state of amorphous dependence, just as the Conservatives did to the proletariat in the 1980s. Can there be any doubt that to call an election in May will predicate all kinds of irregularities in the rural constituencies, including those urban centres with large agricultural annexes ?
While the NFU represented the interests of big farmers and landowners by declaring its support for the mass extended cull yesterday, the local Union region in Abbeytown, Cumbria, [near Scotland] stated that they would not allow the MAFF though their gates, which is a very serious matter indeed. The Ministry of Agriculture has draconian rights of access to and control of farmland, under terms established during the war of 1939- 45 and any defiance of the MAFF-ia may be regarded in a very poor light by the establishment. A class war is now breaking out in the countryside.
Newcomers to left wing activity and indeed veterans of the 1960s, 70s and 80s must now understand that they no longer have the field of direct action protest entirely to themselves; gradually, and increasingly rapidly, other so far neglected, exploited and oppressed sections of the population are making their plight felt. The Countryside marches of the late 1990s were alliances of rich and poor country dwellers, but the Fuel Tax protests of last year were more diverse, directly concerned with economic matters relating to the impoverished and semi-proletarianised farmers and hauliers (they too are divided between conglomerates and self-employed), and eventually proved themselves to be the defenders of free speech in Hyde Park, protecting the rights of Greenpeace while the regime broke up their demo. As the recent documentary on the action showed, they are as yet novices at the art of protest, but they are fast learners... if the Countryside Alliance goes ahead with its action in May, what do groups like Reclaim and the Socialist Alliance propose to do ?
The events of last December may give a clue if everyone shows up on the same day. As we remember, four separate actions co-incided, namely a strike in Hackney, a spontaneous storming of Underground HQ by commuters, a demo by Kurdish activists halting the London Eye Big Wheel and getting into the Public Gallery of the House of Commons, and Blair almost being blocked from getting there by the Countryside Alliance. At the time he was clearly annoyed, and called for the stop and search of as many people as possible; revenge was on his breath and we now see what he meant. Having dropped humanitarian uranium bombs on Kosovo
his outburst about "stepping up the slaughter" now seems much more than just a slip. Just as in Kosovo, whatever emerges from this latest event will, be sure, take us into a very different situation to that we left behind in 1997.
While the NFU represented the interests of big farmers and landowners by declaring its support for the mass extended cull yesterday, the local Union region in Abbeytown, Cumbria, [near Scotland] stated that they would not allow the MAFF though their gates, which is a very serious matter indeed. The Ministry of Agriculture has draconian rights of access to and control of farmland, under terms established during the war of 1939- 45 and any defiance of the MAFF-ia may be regarded in a very poor light by the establishment. A class war is now breaking out in the countryside.
Newcomers to left wing activity and indeed veterans of the 1960s, 70s and 80s must now understand that they no longer have the field of direct action protest entirely to themselves; gradually, and increasingly rapidly, other so far neglected, exploited and oppressed sections of the population are making their plight felt. The Countryside marches of the late 1990s were alliances of rich and poor country dwellers, but the Fuel Tax protests of last year were more diverse, directly concerned with economic matters relating to the impoverished and semi-proletarianised farmers and hauliers (they too are divided between conglomerates and self-employed), and eventually proved themselves to be the defenders of free speech in Hyde Park, protecting the rights of Greenpeace while the regime broke up their demo. As the recent documentary on the action showed, they are as yet novices at the art of protest, but they are fast learners... if the Countryside Alliance goes ahead with its action in May, what do groups like Reclaim and the Socialist Alliance propose to do ?
The events of last December may give a clue if everyone shows up on the same day. As we remember, four separate actions co-incided, namely a strike in Hackney, a spontaneous storming of Underground HQ by commuters, a demo by Kurdish activists halting the London Eye Big Wheel and getting into the Public Gallery of the House of Commons, and Blair almost being blocked from getting there by the Countryside Alliance. At the time he was clearly annoyed, and called for the stop and search of as many people as possible; revenge was on his breath and we now see what he meant. Having dropped humanitarian uranium bombs on Kosovo
his outburst about "stepping up the slaughter" now seems much more than just a slip. Just as in Kosovo, whatever emerges from this latest event will, be sure, take us into a very different situation to that we left behind in 1997.
Corvus
Comments
Hide the following 17 comments
would be great if someone from cumbria
16.03.2001 20:27
???
Mad Scientists
17.03.2001 12:14
Country Gal
Stop the Slaughter!
17.03.2001 13:00
When the media is so awash with lies and half truths, the latest suggestion that “we” should slaughter ½ million sheep can only be met with the answer “Who are the real sheep?”; the woolly creatures to be found in the fields and glades of the Forest of Dean or the pacified woolly headed creatures sitting in front of our televisions. Whilst politicians argue whether or not foot and mouth has got out of control, where is our voice shouting the obvious: “Capitalism is out of control – Stop the Slaughter!”
When we look at the facts of foot and mouth we discover that it is not as terrible as the media would have us believe. Very few animals die from it, there are cures and there are vaccines. What terrifies the bosses is the effect it has on profits. Milk yield goes down, animals are slow to put on weight. For the bosses livestock is simply an element in the productive process, a component in the factory farm. The animal is reduced to being a living embodiment of value where the fact that it is living can be ignored. It is just a figure in an economic equation. The scant legislation as regards animal cruelty reflects an economic/political balancing game to maximise profitability even in the face of popular protest. The more recent vilification of animal rights activists as terrorists shows how critical this area of protest has become. Without necessarily adopting the priorities of animal rights activists, we can still see how we as human animals are not so far removed from our furry cousins. Each cruelty imposed upon dumb animals makes it easier for such cruelty to be imposed human animals. The slaughter of the sheep makes it easier for another human generation to be shepherded to the killing fields of war. Stop the Slaughter!
Indeed the massive slaughter of dumb animals is firmly enmeshed in the imperial domination of Euro-American capitalism. For the slaughter is dictated by the logic of maintaining a “Foot and Mouth Free Status”. And the importance of this is to establish protectionist measures in the name of animal health whilst paying lip service to the myth of free trade. “Foot and Mouth Free Status” is a powerful myth to wage economic war against Africa, South America and the far East, to ban meat imports from these countries and to depict them as dirty and disease ridden. In reality the chemicals routinely pumped through the living carcasses of Euro-American are far more dangerous to human health. The implications of genetic engineering have yet to fully emerge. If this slaughter goes ahead it will lead to more experiments, more Dolly the Sheep. These new creatures with built in immunities will be rushed into production to replace the depleted sheep stocks. Stop the Slaughter!
Commodity relations are intensifying. Every stage of the production process loses any intrinsic or natural characteristics in favour of the universal characteristic of capitalism. An animal is meat even before it is born – a projection on an economist’s graph. The remnants of ‘traditional’ farming are being swallowed up by the ever-expanding swathe of agri-business. This crisis, like those before it will speed this process up as the more powerful concerns successfully lobby for compensation which the small-scale farmers do less well out off. The slaughter accelerates the industrialisation of the countryside. Stop the Slaughter!
What we must assert is that Foot and Mouth Disease is not the cause for the slaughter. That cause is capitalism. We must set out to prevent the slaughter using all the methods and techniques which years of protest have taught us. We must refuse to accept the limitations on our movements because the logic of capitalism equates a mild disease with death – because we equate capitalism with death: First they came for the sheep! Stop the Slaughter!
We must turn the political agenda upside down and leave the newshounds gobbing like goldfish as we implement a simple slogan: Stop the Slaughter!
We must ensure that resources are switched to alleviate animal suffering rather than stoking the pyres of capitalist obsolescence. Stop the Slaughter!
We must stem the subjugation of all human and animal activity, of the whole of nature to the precepts of the economy which has reached its highest form as globalised capitalism. We must break this system which condemns millions to starvation and misery across the world whilst stifling those of us in the affluent zones with the phoney sentimentality of Comic Relief and other such charades.
Stop the Slaughter
AC
??? says...
17.03.2001 14:23
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PS PS PS
17.03.2001 14:36
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Who's laughing?
17.03.2001 14:44
Country Gal
GUN SEIZED AS MASS CULL DESCENDS INTO FARCE
17.03.2001 17:17
GUN SEIZED AS MASS
CULL DESCENDS INTO
FARCE
TALK of rural revolt appeared to be nudging the
Government into retreat today as plans for a mass
cull to beat foot and mouth disease descended into
confusion.
Police seized guns from one farmer when threats
were made to an official from the Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. (MAFF)
It is understood the threats were made by a member
of the farmer's family, in response to the news that
ministers were planning a slaughter of all animals
within a 3km radius of infected farms, whether they
were infected or not.
The incident near Penrith is the tip of an iceberg of
frustration in Cumbria, where there has been
widespread criticism of the Government' handling of
the crisis.
In Abbeytown, near Silloth, protesters took to the
streets yesterday, upset at how the situation seemed
to be spiralling out of control.
The Cumbrian branch of the National Farmers' Union
is breaking ranks from the organisation's national line,
calling for the cull to be abandoned.
This morning, as the number of cases rose to 75 in
Cumbria and 263 nationwide there were signs that
their discontent was having an effect.
The apparent realisation that the cull of sick animals,
let alone healthy ones, is a logistical nightmare has
prompted the Government to delay the mass
slaughter.
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown last night said the
planned mass cull of healthy animals would not begin
until the scientific thinking behind the measure had
been explained to concerned farmers.
He said: ''The culling in the 3km zones is not going to
start until the chief vet has had a chance to explain it
to farmers.
''I have asked Jim Scudamore to visit Cumbria on
Monday to explain directly to farmers why this is
necessary.
''There are a lot of people who are frightened and
worried and that's why we have a responsibility to
them.''
Junior agriculture minister Joyce Quinn is expected in
Cumbria tomorrow followed by the Government's chief
vet, Mr Scudamore, on Monday.
Mr Brown has also promised to visit as soon as
possible.
The delay is set to prolong uncertainty for farmers
already angered at the confusion surrounding the
proposed cull.
"We are just in limbo," said John Stamper, 69, who
farms at Little Broughton and Dearham, near New Hall
Farm in Sunny Slack, where the disease has been
confirmed. "We really don't know what is happening -
it's sheer cruelty to confine the animals as we're
having to now.
"We're just frightened to death."
Initially, it was understood that all animals would be
killed - including cattle.
Hours later, and there was an apparent U-turn on this
policy, with Mr Brown claiming it would only apply to
sheep and pigs.
There was more confusion to come last night, when
MAFF admitted that the policy would not simply be a
matter of drawing an imaginary circle around all
infected farms, as was announced in the Commons
on Thursday.
It has emerged that some farms within three
kilometres of confirmed cases may escape the cull,
while in other locations, animals may have to be killed
if they are further away from infected sites.
Les Armstrong, a local NFU representative, who is
himself a victim of the disease, said ministers had
blown Cumbrian farmers to bits with their muddled
thinking.
"It's pointless slaughtering more animals if they can't
do the job properly now," he said.
Delays between the slaugher and incinceration of
carcasses has led to a massive backlog of rotting
animals on farms.
Slaughter
Last night Cumbria County Council was discussing
using landfill sites near Carlisle and Penrith to
dispose of the bodies.
The RSPCA urged the Ministry of Agriculture not to
slaughter animals which have no proven link to foot
and mouth disease, describing the move as ''a step to
far''.
Lobby group Farmers For Action said it was launching
a legal battle in a bid to stop the cull.
One of the group's regional co-ordinators, Andrew
Spence, said farmers would barricade themselves in
their farms rather than see healthy animals killed.
from Cumbria News and Star
Homepage:
http://www.news-and-star.co.uk/A37k5k.HTM
PUT AWAY YOUR GUNS BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED,
17.03.2001 17:20
BEFORE SOMEONE IS
KILLED, SAYS MP
FARMERS are being urged to put away their guns
before the foot and mouth crisis claims its first human
life.
The plea from Penrith and the Border MP David
Maclean came after a potentially-lethal flashpoint on a
farm in his constituency.
In a telephone call to MAFF's Carlisle office, an
enraged farmer from near Penrith had threatened to
kill one of their officials as the pair argued over the cull
of non-infected livestock.
Police visited the farm yesterday and the farmer
involved agreed to hand over his shotgun, which was
licensed.
Message
But, despite ending peacefully, the incident prompted
Mr Maclean to issue a warning about the dangers
posed by guns among the farming community in the
current climate. The Tory MP fears that stressed-out
farmers could kill themselves or someone else.
He said: "My message to farmers is put away your
guns - or hand them to the police temporarily. The
last thing we want is for anyone to turn the guns on
themselves or someone else.
"These are genuine fears that I have. I am very
concerned indeed. Emotions are running high. We
have had someone being threatened with a gun, albeit
over the phone. It is a desperate situation for many
people now.
"I have had calls from farmers who haven't got foot and
mouth saying 'they will have to kill me before they kill
my cattle'."
Mr Maclean said tempers were becoming even more
frayed because of delays over the killing and removal
of infected animals. This had led to increased worries
that non-infected livestock on neighbouring farms
would be struck down in the interim period.
Cumbria police have offered their support to MAFF,
promising to seize weapons from anyone suspected
of making a threat involving firearms.
"While I understand how distressing it is for farmers,
when a firearm is mentioned you cannot afford to take
any risks," Superintendent Brian Horn said.
"I would urge farmers to think very carefully about
making emotional statements about what they will do.
The news of a cull on healthy sheep has been
absolutely devastating and I understand that people
are upset but any threats to life will be investigated by
us and weapons seized if necessary."
Disorder
Supt Horn said the police would attend farms with
MAFF officials if asked to and added: "If there is the
potential for any disorder or breach of the peace, the
police will help.
"The ministry has the authority to enter farmland and
if they are unable to do that then we will assist them."
Supt Horn was confident that the majority of farmers
were law-abiding and there had been no further reports
of problems last night
from Cumbria News and Star
Homepage:
http://www.news-and-star.co.uk/A37jru.HTM
Patronising Bastards
17.03.2001 17:36
Country Gal
we on the left must stay on this story
17.03.2001 18:57
Corvus
Throckmorton death camp
04.04.2001 09:19
The first anyone here knew of the proposal to use Throckmorton for a burial site was when it was announced on the national news.
A press conference was called on friday but our local councillers were not invited they actually went and gatecrashed to try and find out what was happening.
As soon as i heard i informed as many residents as i could
but it seems we were not going to be given a chance to air our views we just have to put up with it.
My neighbour and his wife who have lived here for 40 years
came to me yesterday and said they felt they could no longer stay this mass graveyard was the last straw.
They have been good neighbours to me since i moved here 18years ago and i will miss them.
This small village also fought a proposal to put chicken houses here and lost.
They have developed a land fill site just down the road which allthough well managed gives unpleasent smells through the summer.
Our small road is stretched way beyonds its limit so badly
potholed that driving in and out is more like a test for endurence.
I am not sure i want to be here either i am fiercly opposed to mass culling and i am sickened by the sights of dead animals sacrificed in this mass slaughter policy rather than treat them for the very treatable disease they have .
My neighbours worked hard all their lives paid their taxes
and just wanted to spend a peacful retirment here .
I want animals to be treated well and kept in suitable conditions unlike the terrible mass poultry units they have built in the village but our voice is just a whisper even when we are screaming drowned out by economics and selfishness.
Please stop the slaughter any way you can.
Ann ward
e-mail:
user105081@aol.com
I live in Cumbria: a lament to mindlessness
05.04.2001 16:24
Foot and Mouth Diseased: a lament to ept and mindless governing.
I am not sure whether foot & mouth is a virus or bacteria. For my discussion this is not really of relevance. Biological agents such as viruses spread often irregardless of human affairs. Wind-born viruses such as might be carried by birds, dogs, humans, and on cars. Although driving cars over disinfectant mats will do no harm this is not going to be effective if the the virus is on a part of the car which is not the tyre, or is being carried within or on the human organism within that car. If a human is carrying foot & mouth this won't affect him but he might pass it onto other humans by sneezing, coughing, shaking hands etc. One of these people may be a farmer.
THIS ARTICLE CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT,
dave
e-mail:
dmr104@yahoo.com
Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/angel_ov_north
radical farmers?
05.04.2001 16:40
the NFU has used this privileged position, and the sympathy thaat farmers get from everyone, especially the media, to resist any change to its 'traditonal' chemical intensive, ineffiecient farming methods, which have poisoned the water we drink and the food we eat.
this is not to deny tht farmers are suffering - but they ought to acknowledge that the NFU are one of the main problems, and not just instinctively blame townies, badgers, or even the government. the "free" market, the Common Agricultural Policy and the MAFF/NFU alliance have clearly failed them spectacularly, as well as poisoning us and the environment, so why have farmers been the most adamant that these policies are not changed? why do they always insist on more of the same, but with ever more subsidy? why, when the interests of big grain agribusiness and small hill farmers are so opposed to each other is there just one NFU? where is the hill farmers union, pointing out the idiocy of modern farming policy and demanding a better deal for themselves and their animals?
this is why the signs of a split in the NFU are so welcome - we will never sort farming out while poor farmers allow themselves to be 'represented' by agri-bosses who dictate government and EU policy in their interests.
townie boy
NEW DISEASE IN THROCKMORTON
07.04.2001 06:45
We were given no warning this was going to happen ,i heard it announced on the news .
It seems they held a press conference locally last friday but never invited local councillers or informed local people .
I received a a reply from my MP yesterday telling me they never informed him either.
We are a small rural village with small rural roads that now have a constant stream of lorries full of dead animals.
Our disused airfield as become a mass grave with the army and their machinery working day and night .
Anyone who wishes to inform themselves about Foot and Mouth
should go to WWW.sheepdrove.com. where an attempt to stop this slaughter is being co-ordinated.
ann
e-mail:
user105081@aol.com
STOP THE SLAUGHTER
09.04.2001 12:39
STOP THE SLAUGHTER!
and i think country gal calling farmers thick is out of line, you have no idea what tey are going through.
oscar
e-mail:
roota@uboot.com
Source of Infection
14.04.2001 23:23
Another worrying aspect of this slaughter policy is the number of rats now feeding of carcasses being left to rot (also suspetible to foot and mouth disease)and the number of flies.
I am informed that the locals in Cumbria are displaying banners with "Tony Blair fiddles while Cumbria burns" displayed on them. I completeley agree with their sentiments.
And what is to be done with the dead animals now? Space is running out and protests by locals near sites of burial and burninbg are increasing. Sureley there must be a better way to deal with this crisis.
I also note that swine fever is suspected in Essey according to a news report yesterday. If there has been no movement of animals in or out of the country now for many weeks where has this infection come from?
I remain highly suspicious of information we are being given and wonder how stupid this government think we are.
Deb
e-mail:
dgb940@b'ham.ac.uk
Foot and Mouth
23.06.2001 07:08
If anyone wants to help please write your MP's and demand vaccination and an end to the slaughter policy .
You can find information at www.sheepdrove.com and www.warmwell.com..
Ann
e-mail:
Stop_the_slaughter@hotmail.com