British Farmers Warned of Deepening Foot-and-Mouth Crisis

British farmers were warned on Sunday that foot-and-mouth disease could start to spread even faster - as the number of new cases jumped to a record 25.

Despite government assurances that the disease was being contained, National Farmers' Union Deputy Director Ian Gardiner said farmers could expect "more bad news to come."

The highest daily total for cases was recorded on Sunday since the crisis began three weeks ago, bringing the total number of outbreaks in Britain to 164.

The opposition Conservative Party have called for the intervention by the Army to deal with what appeared becoming a " national emergency".

Earlier, Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said he was " absolutely certain" the devastating outbreak was under control.

But on Sunday, Gardiner told Sky News: "I think this week will see the rate going faster. The disease is spreading. There have been more sheep movements than anybody expected and one of the problems is that it's spreading across the face of Britain, it's not just in one area."

But the British government denied it has mishandled the crisis and Brown said it would increase the use of rendering plants, rather than funeral pyres, to dispose of the dead animals.

He also dismissed fears that the lorries bringing slaughtered carcasses in sealed containers to a rendering plant in Widnes, Cheshire, could spread the disease to areas currently uninfected.

Over the weekend, Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore expressed shock at the scale of the foot-and-mouth problem. He said the "very rapid spread" of the disease had taken experts by surprise.

The total number of animals facing slaughter is now 144,000, of which 114,082 have already been killed.

On Sunday, animals were slaughtered at what is believed to be Britain's first organic farm with foot-and-mouth disease at Venny Tedburn in Devon.

Since the start of the outbreak, 867 farms have been placed under restrictions for animal movement.

On the consumer front, demand for meat in supermarkets is now said to have returned to normal levels.






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