Burning Carcasses and Smoke for Miles — Outbreak That Killed Millions of UK Animals

Published: 28 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

One of the most devastating animal disease outbreaks in recent UK history unfolded in 2001, when foot‑and‑mouth disease (FMD) swept through livestock farms and led to the slaughter of millions of cattle, sheep and pigs, leaving behind towering pyres of burning carcasses and smoke visible for miles across the countryside. The outbreak left deep scars on rural communities and reshaped veterinary and public health policy.

The crisis began in February 2001, when an infected animal was processed at an abattoir in Essex. Within days, the highly contagious virus — which affects cloven‑hoofed animals but not humans — had spread to farms across Wales and England. In an effort to stop transmission, authorities implemented a mass slaughter policy, culling all infected animals and those on neighbouring farms to create “firebreaks.”

At the height of the epidemic, more than six million animals were killed — including up to one million in Wales alone — with entire flocks and herds destroyed to contain the disease. Thousands of carcasses were transported to remote sites such as the Epynt mountain range near Sennybridge, where huge pyres were constructed and continually fed to burn remains, sending vast plumes of smoke rising above rural landscapes and prompting strong reaction from local residents and environmental groups.

The scale of disposal required not only burning but also mass burial. In some areas such as Trecastle, huge pits were excavated on former military land to bury tens of thousands of carcasses brought from outside the region as part of the emergency response. The sight of convoys of lorries carrying animal bodies — often escorted by police — became a symbol of the outbreak’s severity.

The outbreak’s social and economic impact was profound. Rural communities, already reliant on farming, faced the loss of livelihoods and trauma from mass culling. In towns and villages, protests occurred against disposal methods, with opponents decrying the smoke and environmental disruption caused by burning and burial sites.

The cost to the UK taxpayer was substantial, with estimates putting the total economic toll at around £3 billion, including compensation for farmers who lost livestock and government disease control efforts. The outbreak prompted major reforms in animal health surveillance, biosecurity measures and disease response planning to prevent or mitigate future epidemics of highly infectious livestock diseases.

Though two decades have passed, the memory of “burning carcasses and smoke for miles” endures in collective memory as a stark illustration of how rapidly animal disease can devastate agriculture, disrupt communities and challenge emergency response systems.

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