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British Say Foot-and-Mouth Controlled

© Adelle Vancil Tilton

The British government announced today that they feel the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease has been finally brought under control. Protesters, however wonder if this is really the case and if it is, should the government policy of slaughtering non-infected animals continue. According to reports from the BBC and other sources, the government's chief scientist, Professor David King made the announcement that,"On the basis of the fall in the number of cases being reported, the epidemic now is fully under control."

Professor King also addressed the issue of safety for vacationers and other travelers in Great Britain, which I discussed in my article of March 16th. Speaking on this topic, King said, "It is perfectly safe to visit country pubs, village tea shops, stately homes, craft fairs, country museums or anywhere else in the countryside where there is no livestock." As of this moment, the United States Department of Agriculture has not responded to King's statements and the travel advisory still remains in effect.

Farm groups in Great Britain have expressed concern for the government's policy of mass vaccinations for foot-and-mouth, saying that it is a scientifically unproven step in the control of the disease. They also have protested the killing of livestock which was not infected with the disease, since they feel this would adversely affect the long-term economic market for the British cattle industry. Roger Cunningham, a veterinarian in Devon summed up their concerns about the slaughter policies saying they were concerned with the killing of animals "contiguous" to outbreaks, although it was only necessary to kill sheep... We are all concerned there is an overkill."

There are now reports that widespread livestock smuggling is going on, especially in border areas where the disease is on one side of the border, but not found on the other. Reports from Ireland indicate that that the country, once free of the disease have now seen limited outbreaks which could be traced to smuggled livestock, especially sheep. This places an added burden on local health authorities who had their hands full monitoring the livestock population for signs of the disease, and now must also turn their attentions to guarding the border between Southern and Northern Ireland.

While there is evidence that the disease is coming under control, individuals traveling to Great Britain, in my opinion, would be wise to continue following the advisories of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to take every precaution. In the meantime, British officials and farm groups continue to work on plans to deal with the issues involved in this epidemic, including a workable vaccination policy. Until those details are worked out, caution seems to be the order of the day for European travelers.

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