Ardboe farm funeral pyre

Cattle on the funeral pyre on a farm near Ardboe, Co Tyrone, slaughtered and burned after contracting foot-and-mouth disease. Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Brid Rodgers announced a complete ban on all movement of farm animals. *18/04/01 Appleton, 27, and Howlett are engaged to be married, it was confirmed. The couple, who have been dating since last summer, have not yet set a date for the wedding but are hoping to tie the knot next year. Howlett, 29, popped the question in London last week and Appleton immediately said yes. * ...in a bid to control the outbreak in the Province. *12/10/01 The RSPCA's efforts to tackle the animal welfare crisis during the foot-and-mouth outbreak were hampered early on by red tape, a public inquiry will be told. The charity's South West superintendent, John Tressider, will tell the Devon County Council co-ordinated hearing in Exeter that there was an initial reluctance by the Ministry of Agriculture to involve the RSPCA. That limited the amount of help the Society was able to offer in the early stages of the crisis, he will say. Serious welfare problems caused by delays in issuing movement licences, inadequate supervision of slaughter, and delays in issuing guidelines to slaughter teams, were outlined in a report submitted to the inquiry. (Photo by Paul Faith - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)