The Guardian Britain's slaughter-only policy to control the rising number of foot and mouth outbreaks was last night in the balance as the agriculture minister, Nick Brown, gave the clearest indication yet that emergency vaccination was now a preferred option, and farm leaders, scientists and veterinarians debated innoculation.
Speed is of the essence.
It could serve as a route to buy time. I am convinced mass vaccination would not solve the problem, but in local circumstances it is another matter. But faced with what EU scientists now call a unique situation with the world's first ever rapid spread of foot and mouth in an industrialised agricultural system, Mr Brown could ask permission from Europe within days. Consensus is growing in scientific circles that vaccination would not solve the problem, but could significantly damp down the weight of outbreaks and buy time to identify instances and slaughter faster, the two priorities for government. Of the three scientific groups asked by government to assess the rate of spread of the disease, only one was asked to look at vaccination.