TODAY'S media concentrates its reporting on human health fears but, this aside, the general situation in the countryside continues to improve. And there is good news for businesses in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Three men who have worked closely with the nationwide culling campaign are now being checked for signs of having contacted foot and mouth but doctors are at pains to point out that the symptoms in humans tend to be minor - and there has never been a recorded case of human-to-human transmission.

In Cumbria, checks on air quality near the sites of livestock pyres have shown above average pollution of "certain chemicals" that can be a human health threat, believed to be a reference to dioxins and particulates which can cause cancer and respiratory problems.

However, with luck, the days of huge bonfires will soon be ended as the outbreak continues to show a steep decline: there were 13 news cases on Tuesday, well below the peak of a month ago.

Other developments include:

• The Yorkshire Dales National Park is considering re-opening certain footpaths to walkers and other visitors in time for the May Bank Holiday and the park has also come up with a list of "safe" attractions for May (for full list, see our Events page).

• And with hopes rising that the worst of the crisis is past, various countryside organisations are limbering up for the "inquest" which will undoubtedly play a large part in the coming general election.

• Today, the Country Landowners' Association, whose members manage some 60% of the British countryside, said that rural affairs will become an "election battleground." The association is calling for a new Department for the Countryside and Agriculture - a possibility discussed on these pages two weeks ago.