Dutch Farmers Protest Against Animal KillingSeveral people were arrested Friday by the riot police after they set a truck on fire when Dutch farmers took on street to protest against the killing of healthy livestock as the only measure to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.According to reports reaching here, the Dutch police moved in after about 40-50 farmers erected a blockade in the central village of Kootwijkerbroek by setting alight a small truck. Six activists who refused to move were arrested and are expected to be released in the evening. No one was injured. Friday's protest did not disrupt the ongoing slaughter of 70, 000 animals within a two-kilometer radius of a foot-and-mouth infected farm. The number of confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the Netherlands is 25, compared to more than 1,200 in Britain. Experts believe that killing of animals at risk is the only way to effectively prevent the spread of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease. |
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