Gov't to kill all livestock within 10 km of foot-and-mouth areas+

TOKYO, May 19 Kyodo -
The government said Wednesday it will slaughter all pigs and cows within a
10-kilometer radius of areas hit by foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki
Prefecture to prevent the spread of the outbreak.
Following the decision, around 205,000 domesticated cows and pigs will be
vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of the outbreak before being
slaughtered, bringing the total number of animals to be disposed of to 323,000
so far, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.
Farm minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said the government will start vaccination as
early as Thursday, adding that he aims to complete all measures as soon as
possible.
Akamatsu said the government will declare an end to the outbreak if no
infections are confirmed in the next three weeks.
The government is hoping the measures will resolve the problem quickly, amid
criticism it has been slow to act in containing the disease. It is the first
time that such vaccination will take place in Japan.
The government expects 30 billion to 40 billion yen will be required to
implement the set of measures, the ministry said.
On the government's measures, Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru told
reporters, ''It was an unavoidable decision. We will follow it, although it
will cost a lot.''
While showing compassion over destroying even healthy cows and pigs, the
governor sought understanding of farm families, saying, ''I need their
cooperation in order to prevent the spread, as it has been affecting the
overall livestock industry in Japan.''
The slaughter will take place in four towns and surrounding areas, including
the town of Kawaminami. The government will pay farmers compensation of 600,000
yen for each cow and 35,000 yen for each pig slaughtered, the farm ministry
said.
The government will also urge farmers to transport cows and pigs away from
areas located between 10 to 20 km of infected sites at an early date and will
shoulder the losses suffered by the farmers, the ministry said.
Higashikokubaru said, however, there are still differences between the central
and local government over support for farmers in their livelihood and
management rehabilitation. ''I need to fill the gaps from now,'' he said.
As part of efforts to address the issue, 190 veterinarians, 340 Self-Defense
Forces personnel and 160 police officers in total will be deployed in the
infected areas.
In Tokyo Wednesday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed at a meeting of the
government's task force to tackle the issue to take ''vigorous'' action.
''To prevent the spread (of infection), we need to take vigorous measures
including the use of vaccines,'' Hatoyama said. ''We'd like to tackle the
problem with strong determination as a government.''
Meanwhile, Juan Lubroth, chief veterinary officer of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, told Kyodo News on Tuesday in Rome that the
outbreak in Miyazaki is one of the biggest among advanced nations over the past
decade, following epidemics in Britain in 2001.
While stressing the need to take swift action to deal with the spread of the
disease through vaccination and slaughtering animals suspected of being
infected, Lubroth, who is in charge of farm animal disease issues at the FAO,
suggested that it appears sufficient measures have not been taken to keep up
with the development of the disease.
He also said the FAO was ready to dispatch experts to Japan to offer advice
upon the request of the Japanese government.
On Tuesday, the farm ministry's expert panel on tackling the foot-and-mouth
outbreak advised the government to consider vaccination as it has become
difficult to prevent the spread of the disease just by slaughtering livestock.
To contain the outbreak, the farm ministry has judged it will be necessary to
slaughter healthy cows and pigs in areas where the prefecture has banned
farmers from moving their livestock to prevent the spread of the disease.
Vaccination can control symptoms and delay the spread of infection but does not
completely prevent livestock from being infected with the disease.
==Kyodo
2010-05-19 23:46:18