The latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which by last night had spread to more than four thousand farm animals, could almost certainly have been prevented. But the disease is not one which prevention - by vaccination - is preferred to the present system of slaughtering infected cattle, sheep, and pigs, then compensating the farmers concerned out of the public purse.
The slaughtering system - known to agriculture as "stamping out" because of its thorough effectiveness - has been shown to be far cheaper than the involved and time-consuming job of vaccinating every living farm animal against the disease about three times a year. The question was thoroughly researched several years ago by the Gowers Committee. Taking 1952 as a sample year, it was shown that the cost of vaccinating all cattle, sheep, and pigs three times would have been either £50 millions or £110 millions, depending on whether dead or live vaccine was used. The actual cost of "stamping out" that year - including administrative charges - was £2,635,000.
With the confirmation by the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday of nine new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the present outbreak, a Ministry spokesman at Oswestry said: "The situation has now reached epidemic proportions."
The Ministry also announced last night that the foot-and-mouth disease controlled area imposed on Monday is to be extended. Controlled area restrictions would apply from midnight to an area comprising Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, West Riding, North Riding, East Riding, Cheshire, Durham, Derby, Stafford, Shropshire, Montgomery, Merioneth, Denby, Caernarvon, and Anglesey.
The two infected areas around Llanyblodwel and Darnhall are also being extended and made into one, approximately bounded by Shrewbury, Market Drayton, Crewe, Northwich, Birkenhead (excluding the landing port), Buckley, Corwen, Bala, Llangadfan, and Welshpool. Animals may not be moved in this area without a licence, and the holding of markets in the area is restricted.
Six of yesterday's outbreaks were in the Oswestry area, where the original outbreak was confirmed last Wednesday. The three other cases confirmed were in the Winsford (Cheshire) area. A total of 19 outbreaks have now been confirmed.