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Europe cull to fight foot-and-mouth


Pig and cattle carcasses burn in a bid to halt the foot-and-mouth disease

LONDON, England -- Britain has made tackling foot-and-mouth its priority as France and Germany started slaughtering sheep imported from across the Channel.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has called an emergency meeting of his Cabinet to discuss the crisis after four more cases of the livestock disease were confirmed, taking the toll to 16.

The foot-and-mouth outbreak has paralysed the country's agriculture industry and Tuesday's meeting of senior ministers will look at a range of measures to curb any further spread of the disease. These could include halting major sporting events across the country.

Blair's spokesman said ministers would also discuss compensation for farmers whose livestock has been slaughtered and incinerated.

In another development, European Union veterinary specialists extended a ban originally set to run until March 1.

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Foot-and-mouth: Fear and slaughter


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"There is an extension of the measures until March 9," an EU official said on Tuesday, adding that they would be reviewed at a further EU vets' meeting on March 6 and 7.

The decision was made after British Agriculture Minister Nick Brown reassured his EU partners that all was being done to protect them from the virus.

"I wanted to emphasise that we have absolutely no intention to issue export licences for any material -- livestock or other livestock products -- that could possibly contain the virus," Brown said.

The EU ban on all British exports of live animals, fresh meat and milk was increased as French Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany defended the slaughter of 20,000 sheep imported from Britain since the start of the month.

In Germany and the Netherlands, authorities have already slaughtered more than 3,500 cows, sheep and pigs imported from Britain.

Glavany said its cull was being taken "because of the increase in the number of farms where foot-and-mouth disease has been detected in Britain, and because of the presence in France of sheep from one of those farms."

He told France Inter radio: "Ten thousand of the sheep have already been slaughtered and their carcasses will now been destroyed, while the other 10,000 which are still alive will be slaughtered and destroyed."


Farmers face the mass slaughter of their livestock

Germany began the slaughter on Tuesday of about 1,500 sheep and lambs in North Rhine-Westphalia in an effort to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading into the country from Britain.

German Consumer Affairs and Farm Minister Renate Kuenast said there were strong fears the disease could spread from Britain.

A veterinary official from the North Rhine-Westphalia state government said about 80 sheep at a farm near Neuss, close to Duesseldorf, had been identified as originating from British farms infected with the disease.

The EU imposed its ban as a precautionary measure following the discovery of the first cases last week.

UK EXPORTS 2000
•	Meat and livestock worth �400 million ($580 million)
•	Pig meat and livestock making up 22 percent of this
•	97,000 live pigs
•	764,000 live sheep
•	Major markets: France, Belgium, Germany and Italy
•	540,000 tonnes milk and dairy products (1999)
Source: Meat and Livestock Commission and Press Association

No cases have yet been confirmed across the English Channel but Britain's EU partners remain on full alert -- particularly those which imported thousands of animals from the UK in the last few weeks.

Blair says all necessary steps to combat the outbreak will be taken. "We have simply got to wait and see how widespread this disease is. Whatever is needed to tackle and eradicate it, those steps we will take," he said.

His emergency meeting was called as chief veterinary officer Jim Scudamore announced the disease was spreading.

The four new cases were traced to Anglesea in north Wales, County Durham, Lancashire and Devon, adding to those already found in Essex, Northumberland, Wiltshire and elsewhere.

Brown said the government could shut footpaths close to farms to prevent the disease spreading.

He also indicated a possible easing of the ban on livestock movements to allow some animals to be transported directly to abattoirs under "strictly controlled" conditions.

Already in the UK, children in some rural areas are being kept away from school for fear of spreading the virus and farms have been cordoned off. Parks and nature reserves have been closed to the public.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.