Foot and mouth outbreak forces UK tourist attractions to close

In the wake of the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in farms across England, tourist attractions around the country have chosen to close their doors in order to reduce the risk of any further spread of the infection.

Common land within Dartmoor National Park has been closed to public access until further notice. Northumberland National Park, situated close to Heddon on the Wall where the recent outbreak is thought to have originated, has closed its car parks in a bid to discourage walkers, and has instructed visitors to stay away from farmland within the park "until the infection is clear". Graham Taylor of the Northumberland National Park Authority said that the effect of a prolonged closure of the national park could be "very serious". Unless the outbreak was contained within the next few weeks, he said, the tourist season over Easter would be "desperately quiet" and, given that in the remoter areas of Northumberland up to 30% of jobs are directly dependent on the tourist industry, the impact on the local economy would be highly detrimental.

The Cumbria tourist board has also asked visitors to stay clear of farmland, although the board was careful to stress that the Lake District was "not shut". Operations director Ian Stephen declared that "visitors need not be put off from coming. There are plenty of places where they would not come into contact with farms or livestock, particularly the towns and villages which are not out of bounds".

Elsewhere, both Edinburgh Zoo and Chester Zoo were closed today as a precaution against further transmission of the disease. A spokesperson for the Edinburgh tourist board said that, despite the fact that no cases of the disease had as yet been confirmed in Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo nevertheless felt that "such precautions were very necessary". The spokesperson added that although the Zoo is one of the city's top tourist draws, there are numerous alternative attractions for tourists to visit within the city.

In London, Richmond, Bushey and Hampton Court Royal Parks, all home to large herds of deer which are susceptible to the disease, have closed their gates to the public in response to the outbreak. The National Trust has limited access to all its land supporting livestock.

Farmer's diary
27.02.2001: A living on the edge