So what about the wild Deer in Surrey and Foot and Mouth ?

I was just heading of to bed when something that had been nagging at me suddenly made sense. I've been over to Bisley today (nearby Pirbright) and there are notices asking people to keep their dogs on leads due to the current emergency - ie foot and mouth.

Now there are wild deer in these areas. Some used to drink from a pond of and old friend on the outskirts of Woking and the whole area is wooded, with Army training grounds and ranges near by.

What if a deer was case zero of this outbreak drinking from local flood water and then walking up stream ? The implications are that stopping the movement of cattle may not stop the spread of Foot and Mouth.

Iain Dale was onto this four days ago here also ( found whilst researching this post ).

Take a look at this here ... Defra are certainly considering Deer from one perspective...

Also the following from the Warmwell site quoted here:

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August 7 2007 ~ "Who would notice the infection in deer? Does DEFRA have a plan?"

An emailer asks some urgent questions about the effect of flooding at the Pirbright site and the likelihood that wild deer will indeed have been exposed to infection. (see also below) He asks what clearly identifiable symptoms they have - or do they, like sheep in 2001, fight off the disease without anyone noticing?
(We understand that clinical disease is mild or unapparent in the red and fallow deer but more severe in the roe deer. The appearance and distribution of the lesions are similar to those in sheep - but see the paper cited below)
"Who does DEFRA expect to inspect wild deer and report symptoms and to whom? What is their plan for containing the spread of FMD in deer?" Like many others, he expresses a wish for far more information to come from DEFRA. Many smaller farmers are starved of news and feel unrepresented - and are anyway are doing vital work on the farm and are far too busy taking advantage of the weather to be glued to the internet (if they even have it).

In fact the more I read of the Warmwell site the more I think it deserves careful attention on this outbreak.

The following quote appears on the about part of the site:

"This website has served as a rapier, puncturing the bladder of Government obfuscation, by publishing a highly informed, topical digest of news..." Country Life editorial


A happy hunting ground for bloggers and the like on this issue perhaps.

Update:

The Guardian online has an ongoing blog on the news as it comes in here (this blog gets a mention)