I may have mentioned this before in another context
But during the Autumn/Winter of 2000/1 a handful of hitherto unknown organisations in Northern England were buying as much combustible hard and soft wood - eg Railway Sleepers - as they could, to the extent that very silly money was changing hands.

Leases were also being agreed on remote sites unsuitable for agriculture.

But it wasn't until February 2001 that the UK Foot and Mouth outbreak was officially announced, and all this material and the sites suddenly came in handy for livestock burning.

I don't think this was predicted in The Sun by Mystic Meg, but someone rather presciently foresaw the requirement for a mass disposal of livestock. Oddly the buyers were never seen again.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Thu 1 Dec 2011, 22:36, 1 reply)

Wasn't there a suggestion the IRA might deliberately contaminate sheep in England?
I don't know where I read it, but offhand I'm willing to guess the Express or the Mail.
(scruffygit has an enormous clock -, Thu 1 Dec 2011, 23:22, closed)