EU rules out mass pig slaughter

The EU's agriculture commissioner has ruled out subsidised slaughter programmes to combat the economic effects of foot and mouth.

This is despite similar steps being employed in the wake of the mad cow crisis.

Franz Fischler told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that there would probably be slaughters of large herds to prevent spread of the disease.

But he sees no need for action to stabilise the market.

There could be an economic risk for the pork market, said Fischler, but "thank God, ham and similar items are storable".

Meanwhile, a case of suspected foot and mouth in Germany's eastern Thuringia state turned out to be a false alarm, saving about 9,000 pigs from slaughter to combat spread of the infection.

Police were set to end the quarantine they imposed around a slaughterhouse near Weimar.