In these articles we look back into history because the more we know about our town, the better we can look after it. You are used to me by now, 10,000 years ago is just as important as the present. Today I want to remind us all of some more recent history and the way it has affected Barlick.
On February 19th 2001 a routine inspection at Cheale Meats abattoir in Essex found signs of foot-and-mouth disease in 27 pigs. By that time it had already started spreading and by summer it had arrived here in Craven and cattle were being slaughtered at local farms in Barlick. Six months after the start of the outbreak 3,750,000 animals had been killed and disposed of.
Those are the bare facts but behind them there is a sad story of local farmers losing herds that had taken decades to build up. For many weeks, in an effort to stop the spread, they weren't even allowed to leave their farms. I saw my friends culled out and it was eerie to go and visit them when they were finally declared free of infection because instead of a busy farm populated with animals, they were deserted and spotlessly clean after in depth cleaning and disinfection.
The landscape changed, the few cattle that survived became an object of interest and my friends reported that the wildlife adapted as well, one man saw foxes playing in broad daylight on his land when he didn't know they had them as residents! Eventually some cattle returned but nowhere near as many as before and our local dairy industry died. We are predominately a grass area round here, ideal for milking herds. Any cattle that did return tended to be for the meat trade.
It affected the town as well, many popular local walks were closed to foot traffic for months, the risk of transmitting infection was too high. A lot of people in the town have farming connections and they all watched as the tide of infection crept closer. Every day new farms were added to the roll but eventually we realised that some parts of Barlick were going to be spared and by September the outbreak was officially declared to be ended. Nine months of hell was over for anyone who kept livestock.
We breathed a collective sigh of relief and tried to get back to normal but it's as well to remember that for many directly affected it was the end of an era. Quite apart from the trauma of watching as your friends were killed there was the question of what to do for a living. Many chose not to go back into liquid milk production and even now, the fields look strangely empty to those of us who remember the milking herds. I worked with cattle for many years and their absence still saddens me.
So, 16 years on, spare a thought for those affected and try to remember this piece of recent history.
Favourite walks were closed for nine months.