The outbreak caused significant drops in the availability of beef and dairy, but also impacted arable production due to the reliance of farms on oxen for ploughing.
The pestilence was an outbreak of a pathogen, starting in 1318 and peaking in 1319–20, which resulted in the death of an estimated 62% of the bovine stock of England and Wales.
[1] The outbreak came soon after the Great Famine of 1315–1317 where crop yields had plummeted, and this led to a situation where livestock were likely to be malnourished and prone to infection.
[2] Some sources indicate that the outbreak was likely to be rinderpest,[3][4] but other suggestions have included anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
[2] The outbreak caused a serious drop in protein availability, with a fall not only in bovine meat, but in milk and dairy products.