Vaccination now a real possibility

MAAF wants to ban pigswill

As the foot and mouth outbreak continues to carve its path across Britain, the Government has been trying to focus attention on what caused it in the first place.

Without openly blaming farmers the implication is that certain members of the farming community have been cutting corners.

In a statement in the Commons Nick Brown, the agriculture minister announced a ban on the movement of sheep, goats and cattle within 20 days of their arrival on a farm. As widely predicted he also announced that he inteneded to ban on the use of pigswill

Considering vaccination

Nick Brown also told the Commons that the government is considering vaccination as an option to fight the disease.

Earlier it emerged that a European Union strategy does exist for Emergency Vaccination against Foot and Mouth disease which wouldn't jeopardise Britain's disease free status.

An EU Scientific report says that contrary to what the government has been saying, exports could continue from unaffected parts of the country, and scientific tests exist that can tell the difference between a vaccinated animal and a sick one.

Last resort

Beata Gminde, the spokesman for the EU Agriculture Commission, told PM that mass slaughter "as quickly as possible" rather than vaccination was more effective in controlling the disease. Vaccination, she said, was a "last resort".

Ian Gardner, deputy director general of the National Farmers Union, told us that the NFU was prepared to consider vaccination as part of the contol programme but argued that when delaing with pigs it was not effective.