UK government lifts policy of ‘firebreak slaughter’
Though it is widely acknowledged that it will take many months for British beef to re-enter the international marketplace, the supply situation for the country’s tanners eased significantly last week when the government ended it policy of ‘firebreak’ slaughter, under which healthy cattle in farms adjacent to infected premises were slaughtered (and burned) as a precautionary measure.
The good news followed on from the announcement at the beginning of the week by the government’s chief vet that the spread of the disease was now fully under control, and that the epidemic would effectively be eradicated from the British Isles by June 7 (coincidentally the date of the country’s general election).
Another (less fortunate) co-incidence for the UK government was that its announcement arrived just in time to spare the life of ‘Phoenix’ – a photogenic white heifer that had been projected as ‘symbol of hope’ in the British press, having survived being buried under a mound of carcasses. The timing of the announcement left the government exposed to accusations of media manipulation, and bringing forward the change in policy in order to win public sympathy.
Tabloid-friendly cattle notwithstanding, the development should help significantly improve the supply of hides in the UK, as healthy animals - which have always accounted for the vast majority of the UK cattle population - will no longer be slaughtered and their hides destroyed as a precautionary measure. Only animals from infected farms will be so treated.
