Scrapie infections were confirmed at three other Skagafjörður farms around a week later, and around 2,400 more sheep marked for culling. A final decision has not yet been made on when that will happen. Adult sheep will be taken to the Kalka refuse processing facility and the lambs will be buried.
“We arrived here between eight and nine and started our work. We only just finished now between five and six. It went basically according to plan,” said Jón Kolbeinn Jónsson, the District Vet.
Was it a hard day?
“Yes. It is always hard to euthanise animals. Days like this are both sad, and require a lot of things to go right. It’s just good when days like this end without any shocks. It is naturally also a relief to be finished with the cull because it has a huge effect on the farmers who live here and with sheep and just the whole community. So yes, it’s really good that this day is over.”
Scrapie is a degenerative neurological disease that affects sheep. It is incurable and its transmission between animals is not perfectly understood. It is believed, however, that it can remain dormant in soil for many years.
