AT the National Farmers Union annual meeting in February, president Ben Gill labelled environmental and animal rights people who criticised farmers as "terrorists".
The Cumbrian farmers calling desperately for a vaccination policy to save their stock - their life's work in many cases - will perhaps be forgiven for thinking it is their own union that is now the terrorist organisation as it refuses to back vaccination.
Is Ben Gill and the NFU really behind the farmers as he claims?
The Government estimates 25 per cent of farmers/farms will be lost after foot and mouth and recent globalisation moves in the food markets take hold.
But the NFU does not appear to be doing much about that. It seems to be abandoning the real farmers and acting only in the interests of the big intensive farms who have scant regard for anything except the bottom line - cash.
Bill Shaw,
St Olave's Road, York.
Updated: 11:08 Wednesday, April 25, 2001
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