Southsea investigative journalist says animal health government cutbacks is 'next pandemic waiting to happen'

Christine Lord from Southsea was left devastated when vCJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), the human form of mad cow disease, killed her only son Andrew Black, when he was just 24, back in December 2007.

Since she has investigated the origins and spread of zoonotic diseases, animal diseases that transfer to humans, and last year was an associate producer on Cows, Cash & Cover-ups? Investigating vCJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), which explored calls for a criminal inquiry to be held to examine the handling of the BSE crisis by the government and authorities in the farming and food industries.

Christine said: ‘Zoonotic diseases, animal diseases that transfer to humans are avoidable, and as a journalist I have been investigating their origins and the way they are enabled by government policy for over a decade.

‘In 2018 the World Health Organisation published a paper on the prevention of pandemics they said one of the risk factors was intensive farming. The report stated that emerging viruses were mostly zoonotic diseases. Animal disease transferred to humans includes BSE, Swine Flu, Avian flu and of course Covid-19.

‘The more cattle, farmed animals that are squashed together in smaller spaces on large farms with most of the animals genetically similar and encroaching on wildlife habitats, the more likely there will be new zoonotic diseases.’

Christine featured on BBC1’s Countryfile last week to talk to presenter Tom Heap about zoonotic diseases.

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She said: ‘We are seeing small farms destroyed by low prices, zero contract workers also condensed and intensively working in factories.

‘With government cut-backs into animal disease surveillance this is a developing crisis awaiting a pandemic.

‘Food has become a product driven by big business and shareholders profits, when food for our families should be nourishing, sustainable and most importantly safe.

‘We must respect animal health and wellbeing, human health, our environment and planet otherwise I fear we may have regular and global cycles of social and economic lockdown due to emerging and preventable animal diseases.

‘This is not a legacy I want for now or for future generations.’

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