Slaughter faces legal challenge

Peter and Juliet Kindersley want an end to the slaughter

An organic farmer and entrepreneur has won permission for a High Court judicial review of the governent's foot-and-mouth slaughter policy.

Peter Kindersley - whose Dorling Kindersley publishing house was sold for £311m last year - argues that slaughtering apparently healthy animals is unlawful.

The High Court will review the government's culling policy as a matter of urgency at a one-and-a-half day hearing to begin on Monday at 1400 BST.

Slaughter does have a place if it can out-pace the spread of a disease. But there are no prizes for coming second.

Peter Kindersley

In giving approval for the action, Mr Justice Richards said on Thursday that in his opinion the government's practice was lawful.

Welcoming the decision, Mr Kindersley said: "This is not a time for celebration.

"For weeks my wife and I and millions of people have been appalled by the impending slaughter of a million or more animals as part of a policy that has demonstrably failed.

"Hence my legal challenge and my concern to get vaccination introduced."

Scientifically mistaken

As well as the legal case, Mr Kindersley is mounting a technical challenge is through the Berkshire-based Elm Farm Research Centre.

The organic farming trust - which is part funded by the Agriculture Ministry and the European Union - helped produce a paper arguing that the widespread cull of animals had started too late and was scientifically mistaken.

"The infection is simply too infectious under British conditions in high density stock rearing areas for control by slaughter policy," said the paper publised last week.

"The epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease involving sheep is far too uncertain to have confidence that a mass cull within three kilometres would be effective or scientifically justified," it said, citing studies by leading veterinarians.

Vaccination

Mr Kindersley believes the cheapest and most effective solution against the current outbreak is vaccination.

This week Britain won European Union permission for a vaccination of animals around affected UK areas if necessary.

Mr Kindersley said: "It would take the Cumbrian farmers five days to vaccinate 100% of their cattle and in the next three to seven days, the complete herd would have immunity.

Vaccination would be cheaper, says Mr Kindersley

"It would be over by the end of April."

He said: "Slaughter does have a place if it can out-pace the spread of a disease.

"But there are no prizes for coming second in a race against an epidemic."

The slaughter policy would not protect the nation against a future outbreak, said Mr Kindersley.

Mr Kindersely and his wife Juliet own the 1,850-acre Sheepdrove Organic Farm which carries beef, sheep, poultry and cereals.