Beacons sheep cull begins

Lorries wait to take sheep carcasses away

The slaughter of around 4,000 sheep in the Brecon Beacons in an effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, has finally begun.

The cull was delayed by several hours because the value of the animals could not be agreed on - with one grazier demanding £1m for his flock - resulting in farmers and Welsh Assembly offficials moving off the site for talks.

The cull - which had been due to get under way on Friday at 1300BST - was ordered after blood tests on flocks which graze on common land on the mid Wales national park showed significant numbers had been exposed to the virus.

The animals will be slaughtered in huge pens

Sheep had been rounded up into specially built pens in two areas alongside the A470 - the main route between south and north Wales.

It has also emerged that a firm of solicitors in Yorkshire has contacted the graziers offering to serve an injunction on their behalf to stop the mass slaughter.

Tests on 6,000 more sheep that roam the area are still being carried out, and may lead to an even larger cull.

Some of the graziers have called for the slaughter to be scaled down, arguing only 112 of the 4,000 sheep tested positive while others merely had high levels of antibodies.

But government chief vet Jim Scudamore and Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Carwyn Jones were adamant a full slaughter must go ahead.

Crisis in Wales

Total confirmed cases UK-wide 1,897 - with 111 in Wales

Powys - 71 cases

Anglesey - 13 cases

Monmouthshire - 20 cases

Caerphilly 2

Rhondda Cynon Taff - 1

Neath Port Talbot -1

Newport - 3

"I know how distressing it is to see sheep on the Beacons being culled, and I understand the fears that farmers have," Mr Jones said.

"However, blood tests have now proved that there is a significant weight of infection among the sheep tested so far. The interests of both tourism and farming mean that the sheep have to be culled.

"Sealing off the Beacons, without culling the sheep, is not an option. We cannot be certain that that the disease would burn itself out, and there would also be an unacceptable risk of the disease escaping from the area.

"In addition, the Beacons would have to be shut to walkers. In the interests on tourism, this is simply not something that we could contemplate."

Managers of the national park have called for a public debate on alternative action, such as vaccination.

They have said the area cannot afford to lose another tourist season to the disease.

But Mr Jones dismissed the idea out of hand.

"Many of the sheep are already infected, and others will be incubating the disease," he said.

"Vaccination will not protect these animals. Tests to distinguish vaccinated animals from those with the disease exist, but are complex and just not practical for widespread use."

Cull plans were drawn up on Thursday as the 109th Welsh outbreak was confirmed on the Pen-y-fan mountain in the Beacons.

Meanwhile, there are fears that the disease is continuing to spread in other areas of the UK.

Cumbria has been hit harder than any other region in the UK, losing more than 1.5m animals to culls.

Three or four new cases are still being reported in the region each day.

The virus is travelling down the eastern side of the M6, and experts fear that it could soon enter parts of North Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was greeted by dozens of angry farmers on Thursday when he visited Cumbria to promote local tourism.

Mr Blair told farmers: "I know things have been very, very difficult here, but I think that there are some signs of hope now."

In other areas, however, farmers are being more optimistic.

No new cases have been recorded in the southwest for 40 days, and many of the blood tests in Devon - also hard hit by the disease - have proved negative.

Exmoor National Park is to open fully on Friday, for the first time since the crisis began in February.