Government hands out £95m in region

MEMBERS of the European Parliament's foot-and-mouth committee will meet farmers in the region today to discuss the Government's handling of the crisis.

The meeting comes as the Government confirmed that the region's farming industry has received almost £100m in compensation since the outbreak began.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said payouts for farmers in the region had been based on the value of the stock lost through the Government's culling programme last year.

The region's farmers have received a total of £95m in compensation - but more than £1m of taxpayers' cash has been given to one sheep farmer.

Ron Wilson, of Low Tipalt, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland, was awarded £1.3m after his flock of prize-winning sheep was culled last year.

Some of his blue-faced Leicester and Swaledale sheep were valued at more than £30,000.

Richard Betton, a hill farmer from Teesdale, County Durham, and a member of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said: "Despite what seems like a massive and very generous payout, at the end of the day it will not replace years and years of breeding.

"Many farmers are simply trying to rebuild their businesses, because in a matter of days they lost everything.

"The important thing is that farmers are given the support they need, and while compensation is vital, it is doubly important that lessons are learnt by the Government, which should give its full support to the agricultural industry."

At today's meeting, more than 30 members of the foot-and-mouth committee, which was set up in January to look into the outbreak, will speak to farmers and representatives from the region's tourism industry.

Farmers from the region will join committee members at Hexham Auction Mart, and representatives from the North-East NFU committee will also be present.

A spokesman for the North-East NFU said: "Although there has been a great deal publicised about the amount of compensation handed to farmers, which in some cases has run into millions, it is important to understand that these people have lost their livelihoods, which could have taken years and years to build up.

"These farmers didn't have a choice. They were told their animals would be slaughtered and that was it. Now they are left to pick up the pieces."

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.