During the foot and mouth epidemic, trading standards officers paid visits
to many farms. During a visit to one, officers Gemma and Glenn found the
most appalling conditions.
Sick and ailing pigs lay in a huddled mass, broken crockery was strewn
everywhere, mixed up with festering vegetable and meat waste, while the farm
dog was allowed to root through the piled-up filth.
Video evidence shot by the officers was taken to back a prosecution case
against the farmer. It showed that animals that had been slaughtered by
government order were not properly disposed of: metal drums hauled from
under a trailer and emptied revealed bones, putrid flesh and other waste.
The bodies of three piglets were found sunken in slurry in one shed and half
of a pig was discovered in a waste heap.
The farmer, Joe Wall, was convicted of nine charges of animal cruelty and
covering up the disease that ripped through Britain, ruining the lives of
thousands of farmers.
In the end the crisis was brought under control, but not without great
hardship and suffering to people and animals. I’m glad trading standards was
able to play its part – even though Glenn and I did not enjoy the experience
to put it mildly. We worked with the police, government departments, the
army, vets, the fire service and local councils throughout the whole tragic
affair.
