In the four-episode documentary series The Farmers Republic ICU Documentaries has produced an oral-history account of the so-called Foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease crisis that raged in the Netherlands in 2001.
FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer, and other cloven-hooved ruminants. In order to fight the disease, the Dutch government decided to kill 270.000 -mostly healthy- animals. This led to a dramatic rift between famers in the affected area of the country and the government.
The series aired on the second channel of Dutch Public Television, starting March 22nd, 2021. (Video is in Dutch).