NETHERLANDS: DEER FARM FALLS VICTIM TO FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE THAT IS SWEEPING EUROPE

Record ID: 646564

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: DEER FARM FALLS VICTIM TO FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE THAT IS SWEEPING EUROPE
  • Date: 28th February 2001
  • Summary: RHENOY, NETHERLANDS (FEBRUARY 28, 2001)(REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. PAN EXTERIORS OF FARM 0.12 2. CU FLAG WITH HEAD OF DEER ON IT 0.17 3. PAN EMPTY FARM SHOP (UNTIL THIS WEEKEND, THE FARM DID A THRIVING TRADE IN DEER MEAT) (2 SHOTS) 0.42 4. SV DEER FARMER HARTRIJK WIGGELINKHUIJSEN WALKING THROUGH FIELD 0.57 5. MCU WIGGELINKHUIJSEN LOOKING INSIDE EMPTY BARN 1.04 6. CU OF EMPTY BARN 1.17 7. MCU (Dutch) DEER FARMER, HARTRIJK WIGGELINKHUISJEN SAYING: "There used to be 310 deer here. We had to clear them out because of the foot and mouth scare. They call it preventative cleaning. I've got mixed feelings. I wonder why. Because the deer were clinically clean. You really ask yourself why. But then if you look at the effects the disease can have, then we have to cooperate. Even so, it was a difficult decision we had to make. We worked with those animals for six years and it is very tough to look through the window and see an empty barn. It's hard and terrible. 2.07 8. SLV WIGGELINKHUISJEN LOOKING AT EMPTY FIELDS 2.24 9. SV JEANETTE WIGGELINKHUIJSEN, FARMER'S WIFE, WORKING ON PAPERWORK IN FARM HOUSE 2.30 10. CU OF LETTER FROM DUTCH GOVERNMENT SAYING THAT THE ANIMALS HAVE TO BE SLAUGHTERED 2.38 11. MCU (English) JEANETTE WIGGELINKHUIJSEN, WIFE OF HARTRIJK: "This is terrible for our company -- both emotionally and financially. The meat is gone, the deer are gone. Our herd is away and we have to start again with new dear and to build up our farm again." 2.57 12. CU/MCU FAMILY SITTING ROUND TABLE LOOKING AT PICTURES OF DEER FARM (3 SHOTS) 3.18 13. SLV FARM 3.24 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 15th March 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RHENOY, NETHERLANDS
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Reuters ID: LVA2RMHE5PTMBKDA77FH6AC13ZTR
  • Story Text: Barely one week after the first case of foot and mouth
    appeared in Britain, the disease has cast its shadow of death
    beyond the country's borders. Hartrijk Wiggelinkhuijsen ran a
    thriving deer farm in the centre of the Netherlands. Now, the
    farmer is staring ruin in the face. His 310 deer are dead. His
    farm is empty and hopes of profit now a distant memory.


    You can feel the cold clammy hand of death as you
    trudge behind Hartrijk Wiggelinkhuijsen on what was once his
    thriving deer farm.

    Barely a week ago, the Dutch farmer was tending to some
    310 animals -- part of a lively business that was riding the
    surge in demand for alternatives to beef.

    But by midweek, the dreams of a successful business had
    turned into the nightmare of near-ruin. A victim of the foot
    and mouth disease scare that is sweeping Europe.

    Having bought a large quantity of deer from Britain late
    last month, the farmer had no choice but to cull all his herd.

    Three professional hunters were called in and the deer
    were shot, one by one.

    The government will pay him some compensation. But it will
    go only a little way off-setting of the body-blow his business
    has been dealt by the enforced massacre.

    The move away from dairy farming to deer seemed to make
    sense to Wiggelinkhuijsen six years ago. Prices were heading
    south and demand for beef was falling.

    But now, the farm shop that was the showcase for the
    family's proud deer farm lies empty, awaiting disinfection.

    "This has hurt us both financially and emotionally," said
    the farmer's wife, Jeanette. "We have lost all our deer, our
    meat and our investments."
    But as the family look at pictures of the farm they once
    had, they still face uncertainty and confusion.

    It will be several days before they get results from blood
    tests on the animals. If they come back positive, the family
    will face a massive bill for disinfection.



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