This was what Mr Langrish calls the "unmitigated chaos" the Government has inflicted on their industry by its response to two animal diseases that lately infected a handful of farms in southern and eastern England. The timing of these two disasters was impeccable, at just the time of year when sheep farmers, in particular, would normally be moving huge numbers of animals around the country, for export to Europe, to winter pastures, to abattoirs for slaughter or just to introduce rams to...

He is no newcomer to appreciating a good fleece and has been a long-time supporter of fleece classes at agricultural shows where he is enjoyed considerable success over the years. The short, wiry fleeces just fall apart when they come off the sheep so how can you expect to get much of a return from something that no one can do anything with?" While it may seem unimportant when hill farming is under such financial pressure, Ian Grisedale believes that a good fleece on the back of a horned...

The air in the Safi processing plant is full of dust from dirty furs, which workers tear to pieces with their bare hands. Ahmad Zia Rahmani, a lung and chest diseases specialist at the Herat city hospital, says workers in fur and wool factories are vulnerable to virulent microbes, which harm the respiratory system and cause chest infections. Mothers who regularly breastfeed their babies and consume food at the factory can also transfer dangerous microbes to their children if they do not...

Farmers warn that wholesale closure would destroy northern cattle breeders and damage the sheep industry in Western Australia. Cattle Council President Bill Bray said producers did not want organised letter writing campaigns by extremist groups to dictate the future of the livestock trade. Sheepmeat Council president Chris Groves said livestock producers wanted a government to work collaboratively with the industry to ensure it retained the highest animal welfare standards in the world....

As in everything he does, Cameron had planned the event to perfection, but he had also managed to secure the presence of Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, for an entire day which would later conclude with the minister addressing the annual general meeting of the SBCA in Perth. As in everything he does, Cameron had planned the event to perfection, but he had also managed to secure the presence of Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, for an...