UK eases cattle cull

Phoenix the calf survived five days under its dead mother

LONDON, England -- The UK government has announced a relaxation of the mass livestock slaughter policy used to fight foot-and-mouth disease.

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told parliament that not all cattle on farms next to an outbreak of the disease will necessarily be culled.

The change in policy occurred after Prime Minister Tony Blair reprieved a photogenic newborn white calf that survived for five days under a mound of carcasses.

The week-old calf, named Phoenix by the farmers who rescued it, was due to be put down after surviving the cull on a farm in Devon in the southwest of England.

ALSO The Phoenix factor

But it will now be allowed to live after its fate triggered a flurry of appeals from the public after receiving front-page newspaper coverage.

The policy reversal follows a major slowdown in the number of new outbreaks. For the last seven-day period, the total number of new cases fell below 100 for the first time in 8 weeks.

The agriculture minister said in a statement to MPs that vets were to be given discretion to spare cattle on farms close to those infected by foot-and-mouth.

Brown denied that this was a "relaxation" of government policy, insisting it was a refinement" aimed at providing "some relief from automatic slaughter of cattle."

He pledged: "We will continue to kill all animals which are dangerous contacts. That will include animals on a significant number of neighbouring farms and beyond."

The change does not affect the culling of pigs and sheep on the so-called "contiguous premises" and cattle which are not culled will be subject to regular veterinary inspection.

Vaccination 'less compelling'

Brown said that the cattle would not have to be slaughtered if vets judged that there was "adequate biosecurity."

British newspapers campaigned to save the calf

He also said the case for vaccination had become "less compelling" as the number of daily confirmed cases continued to fall.

The white calf was hailed by newspapers and farming leaders as a symbol of hope in the nine-week epidemic that has ravaged Britain's farming and rural tourism industries and led to the slaughter of 2.2 million animals.

Blair told parliament on Wednesday that some experts had expected up to 80 new infected sites a day at this stage of the epidemic, but new cases were now averaging 20 a day or less.

Eighteen new cases were found on Wednesday, taking the total to 1,479. The government's chief scientist, David King, has also said the worst is over and predicted the number of new cases would halve every two weeks.

The calf Phoenix -- born on Friday, April 13 -- had survived for five days next to its dead mother. Buried under a herd of 15 cattle culled because of the disease, she had been sedated, but had not been shot.

The cattle and a flock of 30 sheep did not have foot-and-mouth, but were slaughtered on the 35-acre farm last Thursday. Phoenix was discovered on Monday when officials came to disinfect the ground at Clarence Farm.

Farmer Philip Board resisted further attempts to have the animal put down, and then came the news of the intended rule change that saved Phoenix.

Board told the Press Association: "It is absolutely fantastic -- a ray of light for the farming industry.

"I think farmers deserve a bit of cheering up -- it has been so miserable and bad. It is about time we had something good."

UK aims to calm virus disease fears
Foot-and-mouth symptoms in humans
Human tested for foot-and-mouth
UK urged to end cattle slaughter

Ministry of Agriculture
Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Home Page

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.