Index Page       Sutcombe Village Records                                 Page  Twelve

The Foot and Mouth Epidemic of 2001

2001 was a year never to be forgotten. As the lists of infected farms grew, people           
we knew were losing their livelihood,  and it affected everyone. Social events were 
cancelled, children kept from school, everyday activities stopped.

                  Dread and the smell of burning thickened the air.
                  White suits and black smoke.  
           Pyres that burned for days.
           Horrors were hushed up, hearts were broken, 
                  ...and we could do nothing.

Sutcombe was surrounded by the
destruction, but escaped the culls.

Just empty fields, and silence......................

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