FARMERS fear wildlife could spread foot and mouth after Otley Chevin was reopened at the weekend to walkers.

Despite signs warning people to keep their dogs on leads and to be wary of livestock, some walkers have let their pets get dangerously close to grazing cattle and sheep.

And there are fears that deer or even hedgehogs on the Chevin could pick up the disease from a walker from an infected area and pass it on to sheep and cattle.

Howard Marshall, who has 40 sheep and lambs in a field adjoining Otley Chevin said the ban should have been kept going for

another month.

"They should have left it for another month, but then the government has been putting all this pressure on the councils because they are worried about votes, I just think common sense should have prevailed."

He added some signs warning walkers to avoid livestock had been ripped down.

"There are a lot of people who walk their dogs on the top of the Chevin and you can't really stop them I suppose, but I haven't been up there since the foot and mouth started, people should really use their common sense."

It is now almost a month since a case of foot and mouth was confirmed at Westbrook Farm at Rawdon. All 75 cattle at Richard Garth's farm were slaughtered.

Mr Marshall added: "The outbreak at Rawdon gutted me, now the waiting is the worst part.

"I've let my sheep out because I don't like to see them inside and if they're going to get it, they'll get it."

David Lawson, who also keeps sheep in fields at the bottom of the Chevin, said his biggest fear was deer in Danefield Park

picking up the disease and spreading it.

"My biggest worry is the deer up there. If someone brings in the infection from another area and it gets to the deer they can then

transfer it to other animals. I've also seen hedgehogs coming out of hibernation and they can get it as well."

Mr Lawson added it was difficult to expect people to stay away from the countryside for weeks on end.

"People have got to go somewhere to walk their dogs. To start with they would have thought 'poor farmers, we should try to help them' but after a month they will have begun to get fed up.

"This business is going to go on and on, I think it is very unlikely that it will be over by the end of the year and you just can't expect the public to keep away from the countryside all that time.

"We just have to strike a balance and hope that people will be responsible and sensible.

"Providing there is not another outbreak in this area and as long as people are vigilant we could ride it out. But it only takes one mistake for someone to bring it in on tyres that have not been properly disinfected for one little germ to get out."

One walker, who asked not to be named, said she was concerned that dog owners were

letting their pets off their leads. "Although there is a sign up there saying dogs should be kept on leads people were either ignoring it or they didn't see it."I spoke to a farmer who had cattle nearby and he was clearly worried that dogs were getting into the field."

Otley Chevin was reopened to walkers last weekend but with disinfected mats placed at the beginning of footpaths.

A spokesman for Leeds City Council's leisure services department said: "The foot and mouth outbreak is serious and demands special care from everyone to help prevent the spread of the disease. The key message is to avoid all direct contact with grazing land and livestock and obey the closure notices where applicable. This also includes keeping dogs on short leads at all times to ensure they don't come into direct contact with livestock or grazing land."

l Foot and mouth round-up - P8