World

Britain Plans Vast Livestock Kill

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 15, 2001 / 7:41 AM EST / CBS

Britain has announced three more outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and will kill as many as 100,000 more animals in a preemptive effort to halt the virus that's hit global proportions this week.

Up to now, the U.K. has been trying to stanch the outbreak with a widespread cull. Already, more than 200,000 animals have been destroyed or earmarked for slaughter. Meat exports have been suspended, and the government has severely restricted the movement of livestock within Britain.

Details of the new, expanded cull were announced in Parliament on Thursday. All livestock within two miles of confirmed outbreaks in the northeastern county of Cumbria will be destroyed, Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told the House of Commons. Sheep which may have been exposed to the disease at three markets will also be destroyed.

The Virus Vanguard

On a tiny clump of land off the tip of New York's Long Island, government scientists conduct the only research using live foot-and-mouth virus allowed by law in the United States.

The law that created the Plum Island Animal Research Center, and the work done there, are part of a decades-old effort to keep America free from a host of veterinary diseases.

Click here to read about it.

"This is a policy of safety first," Brown said. He held out hope that restrictions on livestock movements within disease-free areas could be significantly relaxed within 10 days.

Also Thursday, three additional outbreaks of foot-and-mouth were announced in Britain. This raises the U.K.'s total to 234 since the first case of the disease was detected there on Feb. 20.

CBS News Correspondent Tom Fenton in London reports that as the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease that began in the Britain threatens to become a worldwide problem, countries around the world are taking measures to halt its spread.

Outbreaks have been reported in the past few days in Argentina, the Arabian Peninsula, and continental Europe. Australia, in an effort to keep the highly contagious disease from its shores, banned the import of animals and animal products from all countries apart from the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand on Wednesday.

In Frace, where the disease got a foothold only days ago, farmers are blaming Britain for spreading it with careless farming methods. And while France and other European countries have begun destroying suspect animals, it may be too late. Already a large part of the world trade in meat and meat products has ground to a halt as countries put up barriers to importation, while prices may be expected to go up as well.

The United States, which has not had an outbreak of the disease since 1929, is taking no chances, either. Shoes from visitors of Britain are being inspected. If the foot-and-mouth virus reaches America, it would not take long to spread throughout the country.

Fearing For The Worst

As livestock go up in smoke across Europe, American ranchers worry about the future of their $18.5 billion industry.

Foot-and-mouth disease strikes cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, pigs and cows, either killing the animals or reducing their production of milk and meat. Though it poses no danger to humans, it is easily transmitted by people, the wind, or cars that have had contact with the disease. It can also be spread by contaminated hay, water, and manure. Entire herds have been destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Click here to learn even more about foot-and-mouth disease.

Back in Britain, Prince Charles announced on Wednesday that he was donating $750,000 to six farming charities which are helping distressed farmers. The Duke of Westminster, the U.K.'s richest aristocrat, said later he would match the prince's gift.

"I want to do everything I can to help these farmers and their families to keep their heads above water," the prince said.

Also Wednesday, New Zealand, South Korea, and Norway - along with Australia - announced bans on imports of livestock and meat products from the 15-nation European Union. Japan, Estonia, and Latvia have banned the import of livestock products from France. Russia on Thursday announced a ban on French meat, joining Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, who did the same earlier in the week.

In Turkey, three villages in tat country's northwest region were quarantined and a local livestock market was closed down on Wednesday after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth, the Anatolia news agency reported. It was not clear how many animals were infected, but Agriculture Minister Husnu Yusuf said the disease was "under control." Turkey has had food-and-mouth outbreaks in the past and vaccinates livestock to try and control the disease.

Cases of foot-and-mouth were also reported Thursday in six regions of Mongolia and in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to Russia's south. In Georgia, agriculture officials said small outbreaks occur every year, with about a dozen cases reported earlier this year.