Britain Escalates War on Foot-and-Mouth

Dramatically escalating its bid to stop the wildfire spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Britain announced plans Thursday to slaughter up to 100,000 animals that may have come in contact with the virus--in addition to more than 200,000 sheep, cows and pigs already killed or marked for death.

The drastic move, announced by Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, came as reverberations of the nearly month-old outbreak rippled far beyond British shores.

Continental Europe, shaken by the disease’s spread to France this week, worked to strengthen its internal defenses against the virus--even as the rest of the world scrambled to shut out European meat and dairy products, including those from countries that have remained disease-free.

Foot-and-mouth disease poses no threat to humans, but when it strikes countries or trade blocs that had previously been certified as free of the ailment it can have disastrous commercial consequences.

As the outbreak drags on, relations between Britain and the rest of Europe--and Europe and the rest of the world--are showing signs of strain. Europe is unhappy over U.S. and Canadian bans on European Union livestock, fresh meat and dairy products announced Wednesday.

The European Commission said Thursday that it would not immediately take action against the United States and Canada, but it did not rule out retaliatory steps later.

Within the EU, which has made the breaking down of borders and barriers its raison d’etre, customs posts were being reactivated.

Belgium set up border checkpoints to stop the entry of French livestock. The German states bordering France agreed Thursday to check all arriving commercial traffic.

Portugal on Thursday urged a European Union-wide ban on livestock movement.

In Britain, authorities faced a dilemma: whether to ease restrictions or make them more severe. They decided to do both.

With farmers in unaffected parts of the country clamoring for relief from tight curbs on animal movement, Brown held out hope that restrictions could be eased within 10 days.

But at the same time, he announced the most far-reaching slaughter yet, involving animals showing no signs of illness but believed to have potentially had contact with the virus. The prime minister’s office estimated Wednesday that those animals could number about 100,000.

All livestock within two miles of confirmed outbreaks in the northwestern English county of Cumbria will be destroyed, Brown told the House of Commons. Sheep that may have been exposed to the disease at three markets will also be destroyed.

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Subject to Inspection

Passengers coming on nonstop flights from Britain are getting their shoes checked in San Francisco to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. Inspectors are also checking shoes inside luggage. The highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease, although not a danger to humans, is ravaging herds in Britain. A6