Inside U.K. Britain puts its foot in its mouth By Richard Payne	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
農牧業と観光業に打撃を与えた口蹄疫 2月にイギリスで確認された口蹄疫の感染は、国内の産業に大きな打撃を与えました。牛、羊、豚などが大量に処分され、イギリス全体での観光客も激減するなど、事態は深刻化しているため、今後の政府の対応が注目されています。

Britain is open for business. That's the short, simple message people living in this country want to tell the world.

It seems to me that my country is no longer seen as a safe place to come and visit ever since it was confirmed we have the foot-and-mouth disease. There's no doubt this terrible virus has shocked the entire nation. Few people can claim not to be affected by the outbreak and it's certainly the one and only story dominating our newspaper pages and television screens.

But everyone from the prime minister on down is trying to tell potential visitors not to cancel plans to come here. We're being given reports that in the United States people are being told not to come here, that even London — miles from any countryside where the disease can be spread — is a dangerous place to be right now. It's absolute nonsense but an incredibly harmful thing to say.

The tourism industry is missing out on a massive 50 million pounds (¥9.1 billion) a week in lost customers. The towns, villages and countryside, usually full of people at the start of spring, are deserted and companies are going out of business every day as a result.

John Hallet, a tourism manager in my home city of Bristol, said: "If the tourists stop coming, it is very serious. People who come to this particular area stay for a week or more and spend a lot of money.

"We have heard worrying reports about media coverage of foot-and-mouth abroad, which are completely misleading. We have had some good growth for a number of years but this can destroy all of that. It can take a long time to get things started again — that's what worries me."

Many Japanese, it's reported here, are ringing the British Tourist Authority in Tokyo wondering whether to cancel planned holidays. The U.K. Tourism Minister has been sent to the U.S. to appear on TV and talk to tourism chiefs to insist that there's no reason to call off flights to Britain. But many believe "their hands and feet will fall off" if they catch the virus.

The crisis has had such a big impact that it has forced the government to postpone the general election from May 3 to June. Of course, those who are suffering more than anyone else are the farmers. It's been a terrible few years for those who tend the land in whatever area of the country they live. After BSE, or mad cow disease, that hit meat sales both at home and abroad dramatically, came severe floods that destroyed crops and livelihoods. Now comes another major threat to their businesses with cattle, sheep and pigs either slaughtered, whether in an infected zone or close to one, or at the very least unable to be transported to market.

One of the many farmers to have suffered is John Atwell, who has farmed in the county of Somerset most of his life. He watched helplessly as his livestock of sheep and lambs died in a recent spell of freezing weather. "It is heartbreaking watching them fight for survival," he said. "The foot-and-mouth restrictions mean I can't even move the creatures from my fields and down the road to put them in a shed for warmth. I am having to work around the clock in the fields with my wife and son to try to offer them some sort of protection."

The disease knows no boundaries. Sports events are being postponed up and down the country because of fears that fans attending the events can spread the virus. Zoos and county parks have been forced to close and, believe this, even funerals have been delayed because they were due to take place in churches that are inside infected areas. Bristol hosts one of the biggest hot-air balloon festivals in the world every summer but that, too, is in doubt, as are many open-air music festivals because of fears the crisis may get worse before it gets better.

Our royal family, not known for taking sides or expressing public criticism, has become involved in this latest catastrophe. Prince Charles, known for his support of organic farming, has donated 500,000 pounds (¥91 million) to farmers and has described the widespread destruction of healthy animals as "mindless."

One possible solution is vaccination of animals, but this prevents their meat from being sold abroad and the government have delayed making this decision. Instead, the army has been appointed the job of organizing the cull of animals — close to a million at the time of writing. While that has been seen as a step in the right direction, there are those who claim the politicians have moved too slowly to get a grip on the crisis and thus pile on the misery for the poor farmers.

Shukan ST: April 20, 2001

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