To make matters worse, this week has seen an increase in the number of cases as ministers still insist the battle against the disease is in the final straight. No such luck for people like Bryant. Although these businesses are far more important to the rural economy than farming, the government has yet to come to grips with a wider rural crisis which promises to run long after the slaughtering stops. Around 150,000 jobs are under threat along with 3,000 smaller businesses. A great chunk of an economy dependent on service industries is at risk while ministers have vainly portrayed the countryside as reopening for business - a view which the tourist agencies find laughable.
Most people associate the countryside with open access.
If it is denied, they stay away - which might explain why, with county council elections due on June 7 alongside the general election, the government this week pressed councils to relax restrictions on rights of way across England. With businesses collapsing and thousands of workers laid off, the word in the shires is that voters are restless. But news managers cannot control foot and mouth. The realisation is dawning that this epidemic is not over and, in the minds of many on the ground, has never been properly under control. Suddenly all the crisis headlines are back.