All animals on farms neighbouring foot-and-mouth infected sites in Britain are to be slaughtered under a tough new policy announced today.
The nationwide "contiguous cull" plan will run alongside the wider 3km cull zones around foot-and-mouth hotspots in Cumbria and southern Scotland, said chief vet Jim Scudamore.
He was speaking as the British prime minister Mr Tony Blair arrived in Devon for his second trip to meet those on the frontline of the battle against the disease.
Mr Blair was meeting farmers, livestock traders, vets, soldiers and Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) officials at the MAFF headquarters in Exeter, where staff have been working round the clock to try to bring the outbreak under control.
His visit, on the way back from the European Union summit in Sweden, follows a similar trip to Carlisle last week, during which he was heckled by angry farmers.
Not invited to the meeting was the chairman of the Devon branch of the NFU, beef farmer David Hill, who said he was "absolutely furious" at being excluded. PA