Green light for UK foot-and-mouth vaccination

Britain has been given permission to vaccinate 180,000 cattle in Cumbria and Devon to counter the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Agreement in principle for a clearly defined and limited vaccination programme came at talks between EU veterinary experts in Brussels.

The government must still decide if it wants to take the vaccination route or not. Across-the-board vaccination in Europe remains out of the question, according to a Commission official.

However, in response to a British government request, the Commission formally asked the Standing Veterinary Committee to consider granting special arrangements to help the fight against the disease in the two worst-hit parts of the country.

The accord applies to 100,000 cattle in Cumbria and 80,000 in Devon, animals currently in sheds for the winter but which will be brought out to pasture in May.

The limited vaccination scheme would enable the government to inoculate the cattle in a bid to ensure that when they are brought into the open they are less likely to contract foot-and-mouth.

The decision is the second partial vaccination plan cleared in the past week. Holland, which has now recorded seven cases of the disease, was granted permission to vaccinate some animals last week.

However, the Commission still insists that a vaccination policy remains a last resort which is not being considered yet because it would cost the EU its official disease-free status.

It would also close off export markets which refuse to take meat from nations employing vaccination as an antidote to foot-and-mouth.