Green light for cull court challenge

29 March 2001



Green light for cull court challenge

By Alistair Driver

AN ORGANIC farmer has been granted a full High Court hearing to challenge Government policy of slaughtering healthy animals to combat foot-and-mouth.

At a hearing on Thursday afternoon (29 March), Mr Justice Richards ruled that Peter Kindersley had “an arguable case” which will be heard on Monday.

The Berkshire farmer argued that extended cull policy was unlawful under EU and UK law. He believes vaccination offers a much better alternative.

On his Sheepdrove Organic Farm website he urges farmers not to co-operate with the Ministry of Agriculture officials on the issue.

“Do not let ministry officials on to your farm if you do not have the foot-and-mouth infection; they have no legal powers to come on to your farm,” he writes.

Farmers with healthy stock in heavily infected areas are closely monitoring the progress of the legal challenge.

South-west National Farmers Union policy adviser Robert Deane said the cull on premises next to infected farms is taking a huge emotional toll on farmers.

“The contiguous cull has spread fear like wildfire,” he said.

Farmers are terrified that pedigree animals, the result of decades of breeding, could now be slaughtered despite showing no signs of disease.

Some very important bloodlines have already gone, said Mr Deane.

There is also a great deal of confusion over exactly what vaccination will mean if the Government decides to go ahead, he said.

Farmers are concerned about trade implications, and are unclear which animals would be vaccinated and whether they would be slaughtered or not.

Britain has been granted permission from the EU to vaccinate 80,000 cattle in Devon and 100,000 in Cumbria, but is still considering whether to proceed.

National Farmers Union leader Ben Gill reluctantly accepts that vaccination may have to be used to buy time until such animals can be slaughtered.

The Country Land & Business Association says vaccination should be targeted to protect rare breeds, pedigree stock and hefted flocks.

Animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming has called for vaccination to be introduced and an end to the mass slaughter of healthy stock

Eleven new cases of foot-and-mouth had been confirmed by 17.00 on Thursday, bringing the UK total to 753.