THE Ministry of Agriculture held an olive branch out over the Ash Moor mass burial site last week, but angry protesters said MAFF's assurances were insufficient and demanded the pit be filled in immediately.
MAFF pushed through plans for the experimental pit near Petrockstowe two months ago. It aimed to dispose of 400,000 animals — killed as part of the controversial policy to control the foot and mouth outbreak — at a time when hundreds of thousands of animals lay rotting in fields and farmyards all over Devon.
The plans brought a rash of protest from local people fearful the experimental site was inadequately engineered and would lead to long-term health problems, as well as blighting their lives and property values.
At a public meeting last Friday, Peter Greig-Smith, MAFF's current director of operations in Devon, said the need for the site was receding and, given that mass burial was the least preferred option, Ash Moor would only be used as a last resort in an emergency.
'We have no immediate need to use it for the disposal of carcasses and we have taken steps to down-scale the site,' he said.
'It may be that we never need to use it, but we can't be sure — you've all heard what is happening in Settle. It could break out again. Nobody knows.
Dr Greig-Smith said it was almost possible to say they believed the situation would never arise, but they had to remain prudent.
One worry remained a massive spread of the disease over both Exmoor and Dartmoor, he said, but even then Ash Moor would only be used for uninfected animals killed under the 'contiguous cull' policy. He assured questioners there were no plans for a mass cull of moorland animals.
Answering another point raised at the meeting, Dr Greig-Smith said the site would not be used for disposal of animals from other parts of the country — though the Devon 'infected area' now covered parts of neighbouring Cornwall and Somerset — unless in extreme circumstances, when all other options had failed.
And he said that neither would ash be buried at the site, nor animals infected with BSE.
Dr Greig-Smith said they would have a good idea by the end of August whether there would be any resurgence of the disease on a large scale in Devon.
'If there isn't, we can mothball the site even further — filling the barrows and removing infrastructure — and set the scene for talking about the long-term future.
'But I can't imagine there's going to be a final decision until the end of the year or perhaps later,' he said.
Concerning the long-term future of the site, Dr Greig-Smith gave assurances that the need for, and suitability of, Ash Moor would be a 'new exercise', with MAFF going through the normal planning channels instead of forcing it through under Crown Immunity.
He admitted Ash Moor was done in a hurry — 'far too quickly' — and he also admitted that other authorities were not at all happy with the Ash Moor concept and had only agreed to it as an emergency measure.
He even went so far as to say things were 'stacked against Ash Moor being a major part of any future needs'.
'I think it will have no part in future contingency plans and we will restore it,' he said, offering to set up a local forum for ideas about how the site should be reinstated.
Taking more questions from the floor, Dr Greig-Smith said the £7-million spent so far on the site was a drop in the foot and mouth ocean and would not be a factor when it came to considering its future. He denied June 7 would have any impact on decision-making either.
His words were received warmly by a large part of the more than 100 people in attendance, but some were still unhappy that MAFF would not accept there was no need for the site and take the decision to reinstate it immediately.
Ron Dawson of STAMP — Stop The Ash Moor Pit — said: 'The urgency for this site has now gone. Why won't MAFF withdraw this inherently flawed and dangerous project? We want this place gone. Now.'
And another said: 'If it hadn't been for the people here, that place would already be full of carcasses. Now you have the nerve to tell us you will be taking a decision at the end of the year — why aren't you doing that now?'
Dr Greig-Smith said the Government could not make that decision quickly with the outbreak still going on, but promised to take that and other points raised to agriculture ministers back at MAFF.
l Large areas of south and east Dartmoor could be re-opened before the July 1 deadline after MAFF confirmed previously infected farms were now clear of the disease.
Dartmoor National Park Authority will be discussing the opening of this land at its meeting tomorrow (Friday).
It will work in conjunction with Devon County Council to overcome difficulties created by continuing restrictions at Dunnabridge, but aims to get as much as 70 per cent of the moor open as soon as possible.