THE stark financial cost of the foot and mouth outbreak on Devon's farming industry was spelled out this week in official figures from the Ministry of Agriculture — 52,000 animals slaughtered in the county, worth more than £10-million.
Official figures show 72 confirmed cases, and 51,739 animals slaughtered — 30,243 sheep, 15,288 cattle, and 5,208 pigs.
Official ministry valuation of slaughtered animals ranges from £32 for a draft ewe to £150 for a ram; from £18 for a piglet on sow to £520 for a boar; and from £325 for cull cattle to £1,100 to a breeding cow.