Wildlife and Conservation Review of 2001
were put in place immediately, though of course too late - the diseased stock had come from the
assumed source of the outbreak at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. If nothing else, this
demonstrates the folly of long-distance stock movement for slaughter, necessitated by the closure
of many local abattoirs. Coming hard on the heels of Classical Swine Fever and BSE, both of
which had effect on some agricultural sectors, the bleak prospect was that FMD could prove to be
even more damaging, given its infectivity and especially its wider host range - all cloven-hoofed
ruminant mammals, both wild and domestic, and several other species known to be carriers.
And so it proved. Within a few days infections were confirmed from farms around the country,
including Essex. Burning funeral pyres (see plate 2) of slaughtered stock (both infected flocks,
and those from adjacent areas, free from infection but slaughtered as a precaution) and the stench
of disinfectant became depressingly familiar features in our countryside. Not that we were able to
witness them all first-handed: on 23rd February, Essex County Council closed the vast majority
of rights-of-way, and Essex Wildlife Trust, RSPB, English Nature and others closed their nature
reserves. Similar closures took place in many other counties around this time. Such desperate
measures were to try and avoid perceived risks (though largely hypothetical given that the FMD
virus is also airborne) of infection transmitted on boots, clothing and dogs. Bird studies such as the
Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and other survey and monitoring projects were immediately
suspended, and more recreational birding activities were also curtailed: the locality of a Sociable
Plover in north Essex, which would have ordinarily triggered a substantial twitch, was withheld.
While the access restrictions were largely observed at the time, no doubt partly a result of the fines
which could have been imposed for ignoring them, as the closures continued 'cabin fever' set in,
creating a groundswell of demand to visit the countryside for recreation, dog walking, and wildlife
watching, among many other pursuits, and questions started to be asked about the necessity for
such blanket measures. The closure of the countryside also had economic effects which compounded
the direct impacts of FMD on agriculture, by effectively eliminating rural tourism. Probably one
of the most surprising effects of the outbreak was the widespread recognition of the importance of
tourism to the rural economy, making a greater contribution than agriculture itself!
On 27th February, the most alarming of all Essex cases of FMD emerged when sheep at Blue
House Farm tested positive, and the flock was slaughtered and burned. This was a conservation
flock run on the reserve by the Essex Wildlife Trust, its purpose to keep the coastal grazing marsh
sward in an appropriate condition for wildlife, especially breeding and wintering birds. The loss of
the primary management tool, with no prospect of it being restored for several months because of
the risk of residual infection, clearly had considerable conservation implications.
Spring
As we entered March, winter still had us in its grips; much of the county was under 5-8cm of snow,
and the easterly winds made it bitterly cold. But on the 6th, it was all change as the wind turned to
the deep south, temperatures rocketed to 16°C and spring sprung. Frogs, which had made a tentative
return to their ponds in late-February, set about spawning, only to be caught out by this false spring:
on the 20lh, winter cruelly returned, and killed much of the spawn. Aband of wet snow was dumped
on Essex, driven into blizzards by very strong easterlies, and giving rise to a wind chill of something
like -20°C, the coldest spell of the winter. But the snow melted rapidly after a couple of days
under the influence of yet more rain, and putting low-lying parts under flood alert once again. By
the end of the month, it had proved to be the wettest March since 1947, and generally dull
throughout. As we entered March, winter still had us in its grips: much of the county was under 5-
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)
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