Livestock slaughter begins

Livestock farms are closed to the public as slaughter continues

LONDON, England -- A mass slaughter of healthy animals has begun in Britain as part of efforts to end a foot-and-mouth outbreak that has spread as far as the Arab Gulf states.

The cull got under way as a European Union official criticised the United States for imposing a blanket ban on imports of EU livestock and meat ban.

The outbreak began in the UK -- where there have been more than 200 cases, and has spread to France, which has recorded one confirmed case, and the Gulf states. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reported 10 cases in cattle.

Gerry Kiely, Agriculture Counsellor for the European Commission's delegation in Washington, said the U.S. had gone too far in banning live animals and raw meat from all 15 EU member states.

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He said the ban was "disproportionate," adding: "On issues like this, where the U.S. leads, there is always the risk of others following and its effect on other markets."

The head of Britain's National Farmers' Union predicted the mass slaughter could lead to the death of one million animals in a cull expected to last several weeks.

Under government plans, all sheep, goats and pigs within three kilometres (two miles) of highly infected areas will be killed.

The government is also planning to act next week to tackle the half a million sheep stuck in their winter pastures during the spring lambing season.

They would normally be moved but have been stranded by a nationwide freeze on livestock movements.

Some of the sheep may be moved under tight restrictions, but others will have to be destroyed.

Britain's Agriculture Minister Nick Brown promised substantial aid on Friday to farmers facing financial ruin.

He declined to give an estimate for the total compensation package but said he would discuss it with cabinet colleagues and with European Union Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler at a meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels next Monday.

The drastic measures set off a rural revolt by some farmers who vowed to defend their land and not allow death squads access to their livestock.

Ben Gill, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) which backs government plans, said any action that eradicated the disease from Britain's shores should be taken.

"I'm not happy having to slaughter any animals, I'm distressed at the state we're in. But I have to recognise this is an action we have to implement," Gill said.

Cull anger

But Andrew Spence, of the Farmers for Action pressure group, said there was a growing revolt against the killing of healthy animals.

"There are a lot of farmers who won't tolerate anyone coming in and slaughtering animals that are not infected," he said.

Neil Young, a Cumbrian farmer about 1.5 miles (three km) from a site of a confirmed foot-and-mouth outbreak, said the government's "slaughter-on-suspicion" policy was not the right approach when the incident was so isolated.

"If they come up to Cumbria and they're wanting to kill everyone's sheep, there's going to be a lot of aggro. They are not going to get them easy. They won't be getting on my land."

The disease, which was first detected at an abattoir near London on February 21, has spread to 261 locations the length and breadth of Britain. Agriculture ministry officials confirmed four more cases on Friday.

It has also been found in France and there are suspicions it may have spread to other countries.

The latest region to report a case of foot-and-mouth is the West Bank. The Palestinian agriculture minister says several sheep in Hebron and Jenin may be infected with the disease.

Portugal has temporarily banned bullfighting as part of its effort to stop the disease from entering the country.

World commodities markets were braced for volatile trading as governments scrambled to contain the spread.

Traders expected bans on meat imports to increase demand for U.S. products, while prices of feed such as corn and soybean meal were poised to tumble because widespread slaughter will leave fewer animals to feed.

Reuters contributed to this report.

EU: U.S. meat ban 'over-reaction'
March 16, 2001
Gulf acts against foot-and-mouth
March 15, 2001
Global warning over foot-and-mouth
March 14, 2001
U.S. wages war on foot-mouth disease
March 14, 2001
Foot-and-mouth hits France
March 13, 2001

Foot-and-Mouth Disease
UK Agriculture Ministry - Disease Information
World organisation for animal health
National Farmers' Union

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