CAN anyone explain to me why they are burning animal carcases before burying the remains, during this present outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease?
Four centuries ago, during the Great Plague, when more than 400,000 citizens of London died in the course of one year, the corpses were all buried in deeply dug pits, then covered with lime before the pits were filled, allowing, over the years, to rot more rapidly.
During that crisis, restrictions were imposed preventing citizens from fleeing into the countryside and causing further spreading of the disease. The authorities banned all public meetings, destroyed the 4,000 dog population, and the streets of London were cleaned and swilled with water each day. At that time, the physicians had no idea what caused the Plague, and it wasn't until the 19th century that the black rat was found to be the cause. And now we are in the 21st century imposing similar restrictions, again digging deep pits. The only difference -- we are burning the carcases before burying, which is creating more pollutants reaching the upper atmosphere and probably affecting all the villagers living within the belt of burning with its fumes and smoke.
To think we have moved 400 years into the future, and the boffins/scientists of today still haven't found another solution to the such diseases.
Edward G Hill
Wemsley Grove
Bolton
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