In Kootwijkerbroek ‘there was no foot and mouth disease at all in 2001’ and the farmers hope that the virus will now also stay away

The young farmer from Kootwijkerbroek was born shortly after foot-and-mouth disease made its mark through the Netherlands in 2001. “But foot and foot,” he says in front of his yard, “that wasn’t here.” His village in the Veluwe, where there are still doubts about the FMD diagnosis then and now, protested against the culling of all cloven-hoofed animals – cattle, pigs, sheep, goats – within a radius of two kilometers. The young farmer’s grandfather ran the cattle business in 2001. A request via the grandson for a conversation went unanswered. “I can’t help you. Hopefully it won’t be too bad,” says the grandson.

After a few conversations with villagers, it is impossible to say that the fear has now returned. Given the multitude of farms around Kootwijkerbroek, it is almost certain that the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is investigating one or more companies here. A total of 125 companies in the Netherlands have imported Brandenburg calves since December 1 last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Last Friday it emerged that the highly contagious disease was found in three water buffalos in that German state.

That spring of 2001, creation was violated. That’s how they see it in Kootwijkerbroek

Journalists on your doorstep means FMD in the news. Froukje, the wife of retired veterinarian Jim Bakker, had even predicted it: they are coming today. There is coffee, the couple is moving, but the side hustle and bustle can wait a while. “You then had to deliver a cow in labor with a caesarean section, but the riot police wouldn’t let you go through,” she says. “A cow and a calf that you are about to kill, you told them.” Her husband nods. That’s how it went.

That spring of 2001, creation was violated. That’s how they see it in Kootwijkerbroek. “The government was appointed by God. And then the farmers were cheated,” says Bakker. “That has left deep marks. Many farmers stopped.”

But some continued to show the government that they would not yield. And Bakker must say that the compensation scheme – although it was difficult in some cases – has been handled adequately as far as he knows.

Sixty thousand

Bakker was the veterinarian who was called by a farmer from Kootwijkerbroek in March 2001. “You have to come,” he said. The doctor had already heard on the radio that foot-and-mouth disease had been diagnosed in the Netherlands – Bakker turned blank. The farmer who called him had already notified the National Service for the Inspection of Livestock and Meat (RVV, merged with the NVWA) – the rest is history.

When the culls had to start, everything went crazy. The riot police were deployed, farmers barricaded the access roads. There was a noose hanging for Agriculture Minister Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst. The resistance could not prevent sixty thousand animals from being culled.

Bakker soon had his doubts afterwards: had that calf really had symptoms? Doubts became convictions, fueled by the curious course of illness on the farm of the farmer in question. One calf, no other sick animals.

Local researchers and livestock farmers got involved in the case and litigated. Five years ago, the Trade and Industry Appeals Board ruled that the sample from that one calf had not been tested according to the protocols, but that this had no effect on the FMD-positive result. The 2001 culls were therefore judged to be lawful.

Numbers

After the pedicure of his cows by the hoof care professional, Henk van den Brink has time for a conversation at the end of the afternoon on Monday. He wants to know whether his visit tells the truth. “The government placed that monster here,” he says. “Then you also have that on tape.” Malicious intent is not what everyone suspects, but you will find few people in the village who think that a foot and mouth outbreak actually raged here in 2001.

There is a sign in the yard: ‘HC van den Brinkplein’. Below: ‘Famous Kootebroeker’. Van den Brink initially served as a representative of local farmers as a point of contact for the government, but later he also started conducting research. What did Van den Brink think about the news last Friday? He is silent for a moment. “As far as we are concerned, nothing is happening yet, because we don’t know.”

The government was appointed by God. And then the farmers were cheated

He finds the numbers that are now being communicated strange. The letter to Parliament states that 3,600 Brandenburg calves were delivered to 125 companies from December 1 last year. “An average of thirty per company,” calculates Van den Brink. “Surely no one drives back from Germany with so few calves?” A delivery of 180 to 240 calves is the norm, says Van den Brink. That would mean about twenty companies. “Crazy story.” But, he also says: “We don’t know it all.”

The German outbreak brings back memories of the cull and popular uprising. “Of course you will receive a few messages,” says Van den Brink. Even then the virus came from abroad. Via Great Britain and France, probably. It would have come to Kootwijkerbroek via Olst in Overijssel, but hardly anyone in the village believes that.

What would be the response to a foot and mouth outbreak? “If it happens again, we will know much better how it works,” says Van den Brink. “Then we were fooled for years. This environment was dutiful, government-abiding. And I think very little of that remains.”

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