Foot-and-Mouth Disease – Why Slaughter?

Nearly a million hoofed animals infected with or exposed to foot-and-mouth disease in England have been incinerated or buried. Photograph © 2001 by BBC.

April 11, 2001 College Station, Texas - The number of outbreaks in the UK has now reached 921 with three new cases confirmed this week. More than 955,000 animals have been earmarked for slaughter to contain and eradicate the highly contagious virus, with 345, 000 waiting to be killed and 178,000 carcasses awaiting disposal. Computer experts project that the virus won't reach its peak until June 2001. By then, England might reach 4,000 cases of foot-and-mouth disease.

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