The Government insists that the countryside isn't closed, but that demands an odd definition of 'closed' even in areas like ours that have escaped the disease so far. Not far away, one village reported an early case, which proved a false alarm. Since then Hampshire has been remarkably untouched by the tragedy - not just of the wholesale slaughter and of farmers facing ruin, but of the long-term implications for rural economies like that of the Lake District and the West Country, which may never recover. Certain breeds of sheep may be wiped out, for example. Uplands previously grazed bare may be covered in bracken thickets in a matter of a year or two. Farms unable to survive might become anything from golf courses to camping sites depending on local circumstances.