 |
British Army Again Joins Battle Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease
The British army is being called in again on Friday to help the fight against foot-and-mouth disease in Northumberland, northeast England, after a further three cases were confirmed.
In what was an embarrassment to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (
DEFRA) said the army would help coordinate the slaughter and disposal of livestock infected with or at risk from the disease.
"The army has been on standby for a couple of days and, yes, they've been called in. They will help with logistics, making sure everything is well organized. They will stay as long as necessary, " a spokeswoman for DEFRA told reporters on Friday.
This is the second time for the army to fight against the disease. About five months ago, Britain deployed troops to help dispose of mountains of slaughtered livestock, which had been left to rot in farmers' fields as officials ran out of resources.
Twenty five soldiers, from the 101 Northumbrian Royal Artillery Volunteer Regiment, will be deployed over the weekend to help oversee the process.
Almost 18,000 animals, including almost 2,000 cattle and more than 15,000 sheep, have been or are waiting to be slaughtered since the resurgence of the disease in Northumberland.
The figure includes livestock on infected farms and those classed as contiguous contacts on neighboring farms.
About a fortnight earlier, the British government had hoped the battle against the highly infectious livestock disease was finally being won, but the new and growing outbreak in Northumberland has prompted scientists and vets to fear that foot-and-mouth could linger for months.
Britain's latest foot-and-mouth outbreak was discovered in late February and has taken a heavy toll, forcing the slaughter of more than 3.7 million animals, a loss of meat export markets and a drop in tourism revenues.
In This Section
|