Is the new slaughter policy right?

The government has announced a major relaxation of its slaughter policy following signs that foot-and-mouth disease is on the wane.

In the Commons on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told MPs in a statement that local vets would be given discretion to spare herds on farms neighbouring those with foot-and-mouth outbreaks.

The government had been heavily critcised for its rigourous slaughter policy and the revision comes at a time when the issue of Phoenix, the week-old calf, threatened to turn into a public relations disaster.

Is the government right to relax the slaughter policy?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

I think we should be careful about stopping slaughter. It has worked well with case numbers dropping by the day. Any relaxation could cause the case numbers to shoot up again. Lets concentrate on reducing risks to human health and get the disease under control before lifting restrictions.
Skooby, UK

The rate of cases has fallen so the cull of healthy animals has worked. Why do people knock the government when farming practices started Foot and Mouth not government policy. Ministers take advice from experts. They can only act on this advice in good faith. People seem to resent animals being slaughtered yet are quite happy when meat appears on their plate !
Paul, UK

So little woolly Phoenix has changed the basis of government policy on contiguous slaughter from science to sentiment and political expediency. I'm sorry this really is naive: the government policy all along has been driven by sentiment and political expediency. The difference is that now the views of the public are being taken into account, whereas as before it was the minority interests of the big farmers as represented by the NFU and the policy straightjacket of MAAF. Of course "government scientists" have advised against vaccination and in favour of contiguous culling: they are employed by the government and their outlook comes from the MAFF policy straightjacket which so easily discounts other views. To rely on an "objective science" to show the way to go is an illusion, because it really doesn't exist.
Ralph Mackridge, Devon Researcher in to farming policy

Leave the decisions to the local vets, they have more about them than MAFF.
Megan M. Thomas, Wales, UK

As a taxpayer, I object to my money being spent on the lame duck agricultural industry in any case. It is the British Leyland of the year 2001

David E Flavell, England

I'm now convinced that there had never been any planning in the government's actions. They decided the mass slaughter, and only afterwards realised that the by-product of slaughtering is carcasses which must somehow be disposed! Next we had the serial of vaccinations. Now they decided to change their policy completely, although the initial circumstances remain the same!
Nick, Britain

These people who blame Tony Blair should ask themselves why the government is involved in the first place? As a taxpayer, I object to my money being spent on the lame duck agricultural industry in any case. It is the British Leyland of the year 2001. The policy of slaughter (or otherwise) should be handed over to the National Farmers Union, who can organise it and pay for it themselves. If they can't afford it, why am I expected to bail them out, yet again?
David E Flavell, England

Would this be something to do with the fact that slaughtering poor little Phoenix right before an election wouldn't have brought in many votes, by any chance? It's just a cynical exercise in picking up votes before they election. Unfortunately, they lost mine the minute they decided on the mass cull.
Kate, UK

I'm glad Phoenix lives but the timing is a PR shot-in-the-foot. Against a background of declining infections then it may scientifically advisable to allow local vets to decide the contiguous culling policy. But let's be clear, the culling has worked. This government is NOT to blame for tourism losses or the devastation to farming. That is a result of careless feeding policy, an Act of God and the pressures of agro-industry for cheaper and cheaper food. And you are demanding cheaper and cheaper food? We do. The government (of 4 years) is a handy scapegoat for farming's failure.
Paul McMichael, UK

Did the sudden change in policy coincide with the public outcry against the potential cull of the little calf "Phoenix"? I say that's the core of it from the start, the MAFF and the Blair government's policies to handle the disease have been guided more by the quest to aid their public images, than by achieving real results.
Stephen Kenney, USA

The policy of slaughtering animals on contiguous farms could have been avoided if the farmers had not been so selfish and vetoed the Government's wish to get their co-operation for a vaccination program.
Lawrence Lamb, UK

Its been a hard few weeks for farmers and the public, but the policy has obviously worked.
Jason, UK

If the farmers had not cut corners and fed their animals with the cheapest feed available then this may not have happened. Animals have a right to a decent diet as well and I'm sure if the pig's could speak they would tell the farmers what they could do with their swill!
Tracy Lockett, England

Of course policy should have been changed

John B, UK

Of course policy should have been changed. To think of that poor little calf, all alone and being slaughtered is terrible. The only response to such a heart-rending individual case is to totally change Government policy overnight. How else is this government supposed to keep the headlines favourable?
John B, UK

To suddenly realise that perhaps the slaughter policy has been taken too far, weeks into the process, is a terrible blow to all the farmers who have lost livestock. If there is no need now for such a strict policy, it should never have been implemented to such a degree with so many thousands of animals being killed.
Emma T, Australia

Has the Government done anything right so far in this crisis? I don't think so - so it matters not anymore what we think- does it?
Jop, England

Get rid of MAFF, get rid of bad farming practices

Janet, England

There is no need for the slaughter of healthy animals. It is time that MAFF were brought into the 21st Century. France had a vaccination policy for 30 years, the only reason we don't want one is economical. The slaughter process here has been appalling. Many, many animals have been inhumanely killed. Sheep being crammed into pens and shot in front of each other, terrified and with no escape, will haunt many people for years to come. Get rid of MAFF, get rid of bad farming practices and start to treat our livestock with respect.
Janet, England

Yes, but the next slaughter, the General Election should not be long delayed.
David de Vere Webb, England

I don't think that it's quite the right time to relax this policy. Yes it's very cute that Phoenix gets to live but there are still cases of foot-and-mouth appearing in areas previously uninfected and we have not reached the real "tail end " of the crisis. But, all we can do is sit, wait, be vigilant and hope that the Government isn't proved wrong.
Jane, Wales

The farmers and the Government should stop playing dangerous games. Time after time we are hearing how these epidemics are caused by contaminated food. The food fed to these animals is not a natural food supply, it's just another way of reducing the farmers' expenses.
Mandi, England

The original slaughter policy had question marks all over it

Moray, Scotland

What does it say about us as a nation when it takes the plight of a cute looking (and cleverly named) calf to focus the attention of the British public? The original slaughter policy had question marks all over it relating to political motivation for the culling, allegations of prior knowledge for the outbreak and the alleged disadvantages of immunisation. I am not claiming to be an expert, only saying that I have no confidence that the Labour Government have the faintest idea what they are doing, and instead allow themselves to be lead by the tabloid press.
Moray, Scotland

In the current economic climate of declining beef sales and large agricultural surpluses in Europe, our farmers should probably opt for lower productivity organic and other niche market products rather than try to compete with Argentinean and Uruguayan farmers. The UK countryside would benefit and people might even opt to eat better.
Gwyn Williams, Nicaragua

As Lee says, it should never have begun. In 1967 many animals in fields next to infected farms didn't become infected themselves. Now because of this stupid policy there are mounds of dead animals lying around for days awaiting burial. It's the idiot who thought of this policy that needs to be culled, not healthy animals.
Peter Houston, Australia

The farmers have blamed everyone but themselves

Robert Denton, England

The Prince of Wales tells the Canadian people how the F&M crisis has brought the British together. He should get out more often, as he may find a viewpoint that the farming community has brought the crisis upon themselves by their own practices. The farmers have blamed everyone but themselves and indeed the very culprit who kept an unhealthy farm which is likely to have caused the crisis. Once again Charles speaks for just his own distorted view, which farmers should appreciate is to promote himself rather than any of their interests
Robert Denton, England

I think it's working very well.
Volker, England

I have never been deluded enough to believe that MAFF represented the interests of consumers, but they have singularly failed to represent their own lobby group, farmers. This must be the most spectacular of all recent agricultural messes, maybe it's time to cull MAFF.
Eileen, UK

This whole situation has now become ludicrous

Peter Greenfield, England

This whole situation has now become ludicrous with nobody understanding what is right and what is wrong any longer. The thought of policy changing because of one 'advertised' calf is appalling. When will the NFU begin to act as an effective force, hopefully with the Countryside Alliance, to give rural communities and farmers a real voice? While farmers act as individuals they are like small companies and have no lobbying power. They will therefore inevitably be 'picked off' by this unsympathetic Government and their 'Teflon' attitude to ordinary people's problems.
Peter Greenfield, England

The current policy is working. With the potential cost to the tourist industry being doubled if the crisis continues over summer, I would have said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Chris, UK

Is it time for the slaughter of healthy animals policy to be relaxed? It should NEVER have begun never mind have it relaxed!
Lee, UK