Bleak outlook for farm shows
Updated on 04 August 2007
It's been a miserable summer for many rural communities because of the recent flooding. Now there's foot-and-mouth to contend with.
Channel 4 News has been to a Surrey village outside the exclusion zone, where preparations for tomorrow's agricultural show are in disarray.
Sheep, cattle, pigs, even llamas - they were supposed to be filling up the pens. Tomorrow was supposed to be judgement day at the Cranleigh & South Eastern Agricultural Show - now the show will go on, but minus the livestock.
It's a scene echoed around the country. In Devon, three shows were cancelled this week: North Devon Show, Mid Devon Show and Launceston Show.
The grounds of the Royal Lancashire Show in Salesbury and the Sunderland Show were also waterlogged. The Game Fair in Leeds - the world's largest such event - was also rained off.
The threat posed by foot and mouth continues the pattern, with Emley Show in West Yorkshire, Cumbria's Cockermouth Show and Gower Show in Wales all called off.
Numerous other fairs - like Cranleigh and the Dumfries and Lockerbie show in Scotland have been severely affected.
There are relatively few livestock farms in Surrey. The farmers there feel very unlucky - a swift conclusion to this is certainly desired by all.
