Mass virus test hints at new cull

4 June 2001



Mass virus test hints at new cull

By FWi staff

THE Government is poised to test thousands more animals for foot-and-mouth disease in a move which could trigger another mass cull of livestock.

Officials are to scale up livestock blood tests in areas previously unaffected by foot-and-mouth, said a Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman.

The new tests might throw up more cases of foot-and-mouth which would inevitably see more culling in those areas, she told FARMERS WEEKLY.

Scientists at MAFFs Porton Down research station have made arrangements to increase their testing capabilities by 50% by the middle of this week.

The spokeswoman denied suggestions of a full-scale slaughter but admitted that the scientists would be able to handle 60,000 samples every seven days.

Rumours about a possible widespread cull have prompted Tory leader William Hague has urged ministers to “come clean” about foot-and-mouth.

Mr Hague has again promised a public inquiry into the disease if his party wins the general election, reports the Ananova website.

“There are rumours about mass culls after election day, police leave being cancelled, haulage contractors being taken on,” he said.

“They do owe it to the people of the countryside to come clean about what is happening.”

Mr Hague claimed that ministers not given country people full information on the progress of the disease during the election campaign.

“We all want to be rid of this disease in this country.

“We must all work very hard to do it. It is time the Government came clean about what is happening.”

Two million animals may have been left out of government foot-and-mouth slaughter statistics, FARMERS WEEKLY revealed on Friday (1 June).

Official figures are artificially low because the government has excluded hundreds of thousands of young livestock from its figures.