Infected farm numbers rise

Carwyn Jones met with concerned Anglesey farmers

As preparations begin for a mass cull of 40,000 sheep on Anglesey, while new foot-and-mouth cases have been confirmed in Powys.

The Welsh Assembly said that the animals on Anglesey would be taken to an abattoir at Gaerwen on the island for slaughter.

The further cases - bringing the total in Wales to 40 - at Llandrindod Wells, at Hope Mountain near Welshpool, a sheep and cattle farm at Welshpool and a farm at Llangristiolus. There are also 13 suspected cases.

Agriculture Minister Carwyn Jones has said the planned cull of apparently healthy 40,000 sheep on Anglesey may not wipe out foot-and-mouth on the island.

All sheep in an area of 50 square miles will be culled in an effort to contain the outbreak from Anglesey, which has a dozen cases of the disease.

But visiting Caenarfon on Saturday to talk to farmers, Mr Jones said he could not be 100% certain the cull would eradicate foot-and-mouth.

The huge operation to slaughter the animals will begin on Tuesday and will last 7 to 10 days.

Checking a lamb for signs of the disease

The Welsh Assembly also has until Monday to decide whether to proceed with culling pigs on the island. A decision is expected to be made before the first sheep are killed.

Mr Jones said he intended to find the quickest possible method of disposing of the carcasses and added that he hoped to avoid burning the animals.

Farmers' wives and friends gathered outside the meeting in Caenarfon to protest against the cull.

They said it would be an emotional time for many.

Bob Parry of the Farmers Union of Wales said that the issue of pedigree sheep had been discussed and consideration would be given to whether they could avoid being culled with the other sheep due to be killed.

Around Wales, animals on farms neighbouring confirmed cases will also be culled. It is possible the army could be called in to assist the disposal operation, in line with other parts of the UK.

Meanwhile, in Powys - where the largest concentration of cases exists in Wales - MAFF officials are to interview farmers under caution to discover how the disease has been spreading in the area.

'Ring of fire'

The pattern of contamination has confused veterinary officials.

Mr Jones said the interviews were laborious but necessary.

"It may seem very draconian, but we have got to find out what is going on.

"It is not our intention to prosecute as many people as possible, but we need to find out what is happening."

Much of the countryside is still off-limits

Confusion exists over whether planned mass slaughters set to take place in other parts of the UK - so-called "rings of fire" - will go ahead and be extended to Wales.

UK Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said on Friday that the decision had yet to be made.

The UK government's chief scientist, Professor David King, said earlier in the day that the mass slaughter taking place in north-east England and Scotland was being extended to the rest of Great Britain.

One new case was reported in Wales on Saturday, with the total standing at 35 confirmed sites.

Meanwhile, in a separate, one-off precautionary exercise, vets have begun slaughtering almost 6,000 animals on Anglesey which were in contact with a farm affected by the foot-and-mouth virus.

MAFF vets have been supervising the destruction of 200 cattle and more than 5,000 sheep and lambs belonging to farmer Meirion Pritchard on three farms on the island at Llangristiolus, Gwalchmai, and Penysarn.

Farmers are still observing strict hygiene precautions

Earlier this week 350 of Mr Pritchard's sheep were slaughtered on land at Tyn Pwll at Llangristiolus after the disease was discovered on the farm.

There are currently 34 cases of foot-and-mouth in Wales - with 12 of them on Anglesey.

The most recent outbreak on Anglesey is at a farm at Tyddyn Isaf in Llangaffo.

Previous cases on the island have been confined to an abattoir and individual farms, but it has now reached common land on the coast where tens of thousands of sheep are grazing.

Meanwhile, Wales's chief vet has refuted suggestions that foot-and-mouth might have been present in Wales before an outbreak was identified at an abattoir in England.

Tony Edwards has told the BBC that it was "extremely unlikely", but that investigations were continuing.

Sheep are very densely populated in Wales and they cohabit with cattle in some areas, and if it had been in Wales before I would have expected the cattle to show signs

Chief Vet for Wales Tony Edwards

His response followed news that a sheep dealer in the south-west of England bought animals from a Welsh farmer and sold them to France.

The animals were later found to have been carrying foot-and-mouth antibodies.

"There is no evidence that the disease was in Wales before," he said, speaking on the Today programme.

"We are investigating with the French exactly what the chain of events was that led to this."

A cull of 10,000 sheep and 500 cattle began at farms on the Welsh border with Herefordshire on Thursday.

MAFF vets said the animals are being put down because of "dangerous contacts" with an outbreak at Peterstow, near Ross-on-Wye.